txbvary  of  Che  Cheolocjicd  £m\nwy 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 

FROM  THE  LIBRARY  OF 
ROBERT  ELLIOTT  SPEER 

BX  7260   .P675  A3  1883  I 
Pond,  Enoch,  1791-1882. 
The  autobiography  of  the 
Rev.   Enoch  Pond,  D.D. 


Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archive 

in  2014 

https://archive.org/details/autobiographyofrOOpond_0 


OF 

OCT  2G1958 
THE  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  ^ 


Rev.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


FOR  FIFTY  YEARS 
PROFESSOR  IN  BANGOR  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY. 


OF  HIS  CHARACTER,  WORK,  AND  LAST  TEARS. 


"WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION 
BY  THE 

Rev.  EDWIN  POND  PARKER,  D.D. 


What  man  is  he  that  desireth  life,  and  loveth  many  days,  that  he 
may  see  good? 

Keep  thy  tongue  from  evil,  and  thy  lips  from  speaking  guile. 
Depart  from  evil  and  do  good;  seek  peace  and  pursue  it. 

—  Psalm  xxxiv,  12-14. 


BOSTON: 

{Congregational  StmuagsSdjool  ano  ^ublisfjing  Socutg, 

CONGREGATIONAL  HOUSE, 

Corner  Beacon  and  Somerset  Streets. 


Copyright,  1883. 
By  Congregational  Sunday-School  and  Publishing  Society. 


TO  THE 

EARLY  AND  LATER  FRIENDS  AND  PUPILS  OF  THE 

Eev.  ENOCH  POND, 

TO  HIS  CHILDREN  AND  CHILDREN'S  CHILDREN, 

ftfjts  Memorial 

OF    OUR   FATHER'S    LIFE   AND  CHARACTER 
IS    DEDICATED    BY  HIS 
DAUGHTER. 


Bucksport,  Maine:  1883. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 


Dr.  Parker's  Introduction  v 

Introduction  to  the  Autobiography  1 

Chap.     L  —  Parentage.  Early  Life,  and  Studies    .  3 
II.  —  College  Life  and  Theological  Studies  15 
III. — Preaching  as  a  Candidate.  —  Settle- 
ment and  Carriage  28 

,.     IV.  — My  Ministry  in  Ward  35 

V.  —  Life  as  an  Editor  in  Boston      ...  54 
„     VI. — Bangor  and  the   Theological  Semi- 
nary  62 

..  VII.  —  My  Residence  in  Bangor  ....  68 
..VIII.  —  Ministerial  Labors  in  Bangor   ...  95 

IX.— TVork  of  Publication  109 

X.  —  Social  and  Domestic  Life  in  Bangor  .  117 
„     XL  —  Last  Years,  Death,  and  Burial  .    .  .131 

Address  at  the  Funeral  of  Dr.  Pond  142 

Prayer  115 


INTRODUCTION. 


TTWOCH  POND,  minister  of  the  Gospel.  Doctor  of 
-1— ^  Divinity,  Professor  of  Theology,  writer  of  books, 
indefatigable  toiler  in  his  chosen  field  of  Christian  work, 
most  venerable  and  benignant  of  men,  was  always  and 
always  will  be  '■  Grandfather  "  to  me ;  so  that  it  is  im- 
possible for  me  to  make  any  critical  study  or  impartial 
analysis  of  him.  I  cannot  remember  when  his  head  was 
not  white,  snowy  white,  recalling  the  fine  scripture 
which  says,  u  The  hoary  head  is  a  crown  of  glory  if  it 
be  found  in  the  way  of  righteousness."  From  my 
earliest  recollection  his  presence  was  portly  and  com- 
manding, his  voice  seriously  and  sweetly  toned,  his 
countenance  grave  and  mild,  his  manner  dignified  and 
winsome,  and  his  entire  appearance  that  of  a  veritable 
patriarch,  for  whom  we  grandchildren  had  no  sort  of 
fear;  only  an  unbounded  veneration  and  affection. 

Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  Moses,  and  the  prophets  of 
whom  he  used  to  speak  so  freely  and  charmingly,  were 
all  very  well  in  their  distant  places,  standing  remote  and 
shadowy  in  the  haze  of  a  dawning  history ;  but  Grand- 
father Pond  was  a  real  and  Xew-Testan>ent  patriarch; 
and,  as  regards  beauty  of  holiness,  not  to  be  compared 
with  anybody  far  or  near. 

Partly  because  of  my  mother's  adorable  love  for  him, 
and  because  of  a  kind  of  choral  worship  of  him  in  the 
whole  family  (of  which  he  was  quite  oblivious),  and 
partly  because  no  one  coidd  know  him  and  not  perceive 
in  him  a  very  singular  excellence,  he  stood  in  the  niche 


vi 


INTRODUCTION. 


of  human  perfection  for  my  boyhood.  And  I  verily 
believe  that  boyhood  was  far  gone  with  me,  before  it 
occurred  to  me  that  God  could  be  as  good  as  be. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that,  during  his  long  term  of  service 
in  Bangor  Seminary,  no  student  of  that  institution 
failed  to  know  and  to  love  him.  Gentle  in  counsels, 
gentler  in  corrections,  almost  incomprehensibly  patient, 
fond  of  his  joke,  able  to  pour  out  his  soul  in  a  prayer 
or  in  a  laugh,  full  of  tender  and  wise  sympathy,  strong 
to  bear  his  own  burden  and  the  burdens  of  otbers  also, 
he  lived  before  our  eyes  as  one  who,  like  his  namesake 
of  old,  "walked  with  God."  A  simpler,  sincerer  man 
could  not  be  found.  One  would  as  soon  have  suspected 
the  sunlight.  It  never  occurred  to  any  one  to  question 
his  inward  honesty.  Of  words  and  actions  prompted 
by  envy,  jealousy,  or  kindred  passions,  he  seemed  in- 
capable. He  was  more  than  righteous :  he  was  a  good 
man.  Without  acerbity,  severity,  or  any  of  the  dis- 
agreeable qualities  that  taint  much  puritan  piety,  he 
moved  on,  upright  and  steadfast  and  serene,  in  ways 
of  pleasantness  and  paths  of  peace,  driving  far  from 
him  all  thoughts  and  spirits  of  evil,  not  with  scourges 
and  anathemas,  but  without  effort  and  unconsciously, 
by  the  simple  bright-shining  of  his  goodness. 

In  nothing  was  the  unselfish  and  lovely  spirit  of  the 
man  more  manifest  than  in  the  manner  in  which  he 
received  the  unwelcome  admonitions  of  increasing 
infirmities,  endured  the  inevitable  deprivations  of  ad- 
vancing age,  and  gave  a  cordial  sympathy  to  his 
successors  and  supplanters.  As  his  term  of  service 
lengthened  in  the  Theological  Seminary,  and  as  the 
necessities  of  the  Seminary  multiplied,  he  voluntarily 
relinquished  position  after  position  in  which  he  had 
served  with  enthusiasm  and  success.    Other  men  came 


INTRODUCTION. 


vii 


in  to  fill  these  positions,  —  the  chair  of  theology,  the 
chair  of  history.  His  cheerful  acquiescence  in  the 
necessity  which  decreed  these  successive  contractions 
in  the  circle  of  his  service  was  in  marked  contrast  with 
the  resistance  sometimes  offered  in  similar  cases,  and 
with  the  resentment  which  makes  the  act  of  displace- 
ment a  painful,  if  not  a  forcible,  one. 

In  marked  contrast  with  the  sad  behavior  of  those 
who  linger  about  the  scenes  of  their  former  service,  only 
by  their  interferences,  criticisms,  and  fault-findings  to 
make  their  successors  uncomfortable,  to  foment  strife 
and  engender  discord,  was  his  most  cordial,  generous, 
and  paternal  reception  of  those  who  came  to  teach  and 
rule  in  his  stead.  They  might  come  bringing  into  use 
text-books  or  methods  hitherto  unapproved  by  him  ;  but 
no  words  of  criticism  escaped  his  lips,  no  hint  or  sign 
of  disapproval  was  given.  The  words  he  spake  were 
those  of  brotherly  kindness,  and  all  the  signs  he  made 
were  those  of  a  good  man,  who  loved  the  Seminary,  and 
the  brethren  in  its  service,  and  the  students  under  their 
care,  with  a  self-denying,  self-forgetting  affection.  It 
was  not  possible  for  discord  to  exist  in  the  Faculty,  while 
he  presided  over  them  and  his  spirit  dwelt  with  them. 

The  theology  which  he  received  and  taught,  to  some 
may  have  seemed  severe;  but  the  Christianity  of  his 
life  and  character  was  attractive  and  incontrovertible. 
He  was  one  of  those  who  go  about  doing  good,  whatever 
they  do,  and  whose  influence  for  good  goes  on  when  they 
can  no  more  go  about. 

He  was  one  of  the  few  whose  prayers  are  listened 
to  with  heartfelt  interest.  He  seemed  to  have  been 
taught  to  "pray  in  the  Spirit."  Out  of  a  childlike  heart 
came  forth  his  prayers  in  simple,  childlike  phrases, 
becoming  more  impressive  and  of  broader  meaning  as 


viii 


INTRODUCTION. 


they  became  more  familiar.  Thus,  all  unconsciously, 
he  made  for  himself  a  beautiful  liturgy,  that  could  be 
repeated  and  written  down  by  his  children  and  pupils. 
He  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  make  a  prayer  each  time 
he  would  pray,  but  offered  the  prayer  once  made,  with 
some  variations,  repeatedly.- 

Dr.  Pond  was  a  large-hearted  man.  His  love  for 
humanity  was  broad  and  deep ;  his  charity  for  men  was 
an  overflowing  one.  His  kind  thoughts  of  men  and 
motives  recall  to  mind  the  legendary  saint,  who,  when 
put  to  the  test  if  she  would  say  a  good  word  for  the 
Devil,  quietly  remarked:  "He  must  be  credited  with 
great  industry."  As  regards  injustice,  or  even  abuse, 
toward  himself,  he  seemed  indifferent,  and  evil  deeds  did 
not  stick  in  his  memory.  In  short,  he  had  that  love 
which  "  thinketh  no  evil,  is  not  easily  provoked,  be- 
lieveth  all  things,  endureth  all  things."  At  the  same 
time  he  was  a  zealous  and  ardent  controversialist,  and 
ever  a  courteous  one.  Having  carefully  formed  his 
opinions,  and  defined  his  beliefs,  he  was  quick  to  meet 
any  denials  or  doubts  thereof,  or  opposing  errors,  with 
bristling  weapons.  He  believed  in  the  impregnability 
of  his  theological  j>ositions,  and  at  the  same  time  con- 
ceived it  to  be  his  duty  to  battle  against  every  move- 
ment of  those  who  had  chosen  other  positions.  He  had 
no  faith  in  "  new  departures,"  and  little  patience  with  the 
late  departed.  I  think  he  cherished  an  especial  con- 
tempt for  German  philosophy  and  criticism,  —  "  German 
fog"  he  energetically  pronounced  it.  He  did  his  ut- 
most to  puff  and  blow  that  "fog"  away.  He  deprecated 
"letting  down  the  bars,"  not  always  taking  into 
account  by  whom,  and  with  what  assumption,  the  same 
"bars"  had  been  put  up.  He  deplored  and  resisted 
the  changes  which  have  taken  place  during  the  last 


INTRODUCTION. 


ix 


twenty-five  years  in  the  practice  of  the  religious 
world.  The  change  of  posture  from  standing  or  kneeling 
to  sitting  during  public,  prayer;  the  surrender  of  one 
service  on  the  Sabbath;  the  less  rigid  observance  of  the 
Lord's  day ;  the  disposition  to  allow  more  freedom 
in  recreation  and  amusements,  —  these,  and  similar  con- 
formities in  the  practical  conduct  of  Christians,  seemed 
to  him  indicative  and  productive  of  worldliness  and 
irreligion.  Loose  views  of  inspiration,  new  speculations 
regarding  probation,  doubts  concerning  eternal  punish- 
ment, and  questionings  of  the  expiatory  nature  of  the 
atonement,  disturbed  him,  and  provoked  him  to  use  his 
pen  against  these  errors.  He  sought  and  found  comfort 
for  his  vexed  and  righteous  soul  in  the  great  thought 
of  "a  reigning  God,"  and  died,  as  he  had  lived  and 
labored,  in  faith. 

Now  because  he  was  so  very  zealous  for  his  views 
of  divine  truth  and  Christian  duty,  and  because  he  was 
ever  alert,  with  great  facility  of  plain  speech,  to  utter  his 
warning,  and  to  discover  what  he  deemed  erroneous  and 
noxious,  it  came  to  pass,  I  think,  that  those  who  knew 
him  by  his  writings  mainly  and  merely,  knew  com- 
parative^' but  little  of  what  was  best  and  most  beautiful 
in  him.  I  do  not  know  that  he  was  ever  severe  and 
caustic  in  his  controversial  writings,  but  he  was  very 
positive  and  unyielding,  and  did  not  exhibit  great  read- 
iness or  capacity  to  appreciate  the  possible  force  of  new 
suggestions  and  theories.  In  all  these  forthputtings 
against  views,  opinions,  speculations,  and  "  German 
fog"  in  particular,  —  in  all  these  polemic  raids  and 
controversial  crusades,  —  the  good  man  was  tjaji&mned 
with  a  zeal  for  the  truth,  which,  for  the  time  being,  over- 
laid his  more  generous  and  distinguishing  character- 
istics, as  the  helmet's  grim  visor  hides  the  face  of  the 
genial  knight. 


X 


INTRODUCTION. 


When  it  came  to  men,  his  great  heart  took  the  heretics 
in  pretty  generally.  One  would  never  suspect,  from 
reading  his  reviews  of  Dr.  Bushnell's  writings,  his  deep 
interest  and  cordial  faith  in  that  man  of  God.  He  could 
rarely  make  up  his  mind  to  assist  in  casting  the 
unbeliever  out  of  the  synagogue.  He  was  boundlessly 
tolerant  and  hopeful  of  men,  and  the  more  so  as  his 
years  increased.  It  may  not  be  easy  or  important  to 
reconcile  these  diverse  phases  of  Dr.  Pond's  religious 
activity.  But  a  partial  explanation  of  them  may  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  his  life  was  chiefly  spent  in 
studious  seclusion  from  the  world,  while  his  mental  con- 
stitution and  habits  of  thought  were  such  as  to  render  him 
somewhat  unappreciative  of  other  than  "  common-sense  " 
views  and  opinions.  If  he  was  not  open  to  new  con- 
victions, it  was  partly  owing  to  the  fact  that,  at  one 
time  of  his  life,  he  had  been  deeply  convicted  of  the 
truth.  In  the  controversy  with  the  Unitarians,  all  his 
convictions  had  been  fused  into  one  glowing  mass 
of  conviction,  never  more  to  be  up  for  questioning. 
Henceforth  the  truth  was  unconsciously  identified  in 
his  mind  with  the  formulation  in  which  it  had  taken 
shape  in  the  heats  and  under  the  pressures  of  con- 
troversial discussion. 

Moreover,  between  the  separate  and  peaceful  condi- 
tions of  life  in  which  the  old  New  England  divines 
thought  out  their  systems  of  divinity,  and  the  world  as 
one  now  finds  it,  there  is  a  tremendous  difference.  The 
ends  of  the  earth  are  now  brought  into  communication. 
In  the  New  England  village  one  hears  the  roar  of  London 
life.  The  bazaars  of  Cairo  are  not  unfamiliar  to  him. 
The  old  conditions  of  social  life  are  completely  changed. 
Into  all  our  quiet  bays  and  creeks  the  great  world  has 
come  rushing  and  foaming,  bringing  with  its  tide  a 


INTRODUCTION. 


revolution  both  literary  and  religious.  A  village  the- 
L  ology  no  longer  suffices.  It  is  too  small  to  meet  the 
f  facts  of  the  case.  The  systems  and  isms  of  a  provincial 
theology  are  as  quaint  as  the  costumes  of  a  former  age. 

Dr.  Pond  was  born,  nurtured,  and  disciplined  in  tlie 
old  New  England  provincialism.  His  remote  relation 
with  the  world  of  affairs,  and  the  environment  which 
habit  and  education  and  secluded  residence  combined 
to  make  for  him,  rendered  it  difficult  for  him  to  take  the 
full  measure  and  bearing  of  successive  innovations  in 
practical  and  doctrinal  theology. 

According  to  popular  notion,  imagination  is  a  sort 
of  decorative-art  faculty,  merely  fictional  and  pictorial, 
in  pretty  ways  frescoing  the  otherwise  plain  things  of 
truth  and  fact.  But  imagination  is  a  king  faculty  in 
man,  without  which  one  may  have  great  power  of 
logical  reasoning  and  of  lucid  statement,  but  may  not 
mount  as  on  wings,  nor  have  "visions,"  nor  either 
prophetic  or  inspirational  genius. 

Of  imagination,  Dr.  Pond  was  not  in  a  great  degree 
possessed;  and  this  fact  seems  to  explain,  in  some 
measure,  why  he  was  unable  to  take  the  largest  and 
most  comprehensive  views  of  the  diversified  landscape 
of  truth.  He  could  not  mount  high  enough  to  look  afar 
off  in  many  directions.  He  could  not  understand  the 
mystic  nor  the  transcendentalist,  and  was  suspicious 
of  the  genuineness  of  such  creatures.  His  pleasure 
in  poetry  and  art,  apart  from  religious  associations  there- 
with, was  probably  not  deep  or  great.  Dr.  Bushnell's 
idea  of  "The  Gospel  a  Gift  to  the  Imagination," 
would  have  seemed  almost  a  conceit  to  Dr.  Pond.  In 
this  respect  he  was  very  much  like  his  classmate  and 
friend,  Dr.  Joel  Hawes,  late  of  Hartford ;  yes,  very 
much  like  the  late  Dr.  Pusey,  who  thought  German-ism 


xii 


INTRODUCTION. 


and  neologism  were  the  great  out-standing  perils  of  the 
Christian  church. 

If  one  has  not  much  imagination  he  will  not  get  much 
Gospel  by  that  inlet.  Taking  it  in  ever  so  large  quan- 
tities by  some  other  faculty,  it  will  never  take  such 
shape  and  color  in  his  conceptions  of  it,  as  in  his  case 
to  whom  it  comes  streaming  through  the  glowing  win- 
dows of  an  illuminated  imagination. 

Not  caring  to  rise  much  above  literal  interpretations, 
obvious  meanings,  and  scholastic  definitions  in  the 
domain  of  criticism  and  theology,  Dr.  Pond  held  by 
his  beliefs  and  opinions  somewhat  traditionally  and 
prosaically,  but  with  unfaltering  tenacity.  He  held 
by  them  so  as  to  be  upheld  by  them  above  all  doubts 
or  suspicions  of  their  complete  account  of  religious  truth. 
He  never  seemed  to  feel  the  force  of  the  objections  that 
were  set  up  and  overthrown  in  his  lectures  and  essays. 
The  victory  of  his  logic  seemed  complete,  and  he  could 
not  quite  understand  why  the  entire  world  was  not 
convinced.  Thus  it  was  with  him  in  respect  of  his 
opinions  and  views  of  truth. 

But  in  respect  of  men  the  case  was  otherwise.  Never 
was  there  human  charity  sweeter  or  larger  —  human 
kindness  gentler  or  more  catholic.  Few  holier  lives 
have  been  known  in  this  age  than  his,  —  so  wholly  free 
from  cant,  from  pretension,  from  artificial  emotion  — 
so  sane,  clear,  simple,  sincere,  good,  and  loving.  There 
have  been  greater  men  in  our  age,  but  few,  if  any,  better 
men  than  he. 

Such  men  are  our  everlasting  supports.  Theologies, 
systems,  speculations,  have  their  day,  and  are,  for  the 
most  part,  written  in  water.  But  on  "  Godlike  men  " 
we  build  our  trusts.  Dr.  Pond  was  "  a  living  epistle," 
"a  burning  and  shining  light,"  "a  good  man  full  of 


INTRODUCTION. 


xiii 


the  Holy  Ghost."  He  lives  and  works  in  hundreds 
of  men,  who  "  took  knowledge  of  him  that  he  had  been 
with  Jesus." 

Of  him  it  may  fitly  be  said,  "And  Enoch  walked 
with  God  :   and  he  was  not,  fob  God  took 

HIM." 


Hartford  :  May,  1SS3. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


INTRODUCTION. 


'VERY  man's  personal  history  should  be  an 


interesting  one  to  himself.  It  may  not  be 
of  special  interest  to  others. 

Numerous  biographies  have  been  written  and 
pnl dished  in  which  the  community  feels  little 
interest.  But,  as  I  said,  every  man's  personal 
history  should  be  interesting  to  himself,  and 
should  be  pondered  and  reviewed.  He  will 
learn  from  it  his  own  weakness,  depravity, 
short-sightedness,  and  ignorance,  and  the  treach- 
ery of  his  heart.  He  will  learn  what  are 
his  most  exposed  points  of  character,  what 
his  easily  besetting  sins,  and  in  what  manner 
the  temptations  and  dangers  to  which  he  is 
exposed  may  best  be  overcome.  But  especially 
will  he  be  impressed  with  the  great  goodness 
and  faithfulness  and  forbearance  of  God,  and 
while  he  feels  his  own  weakness,  and  learns 
more  and  more  to  distrust  himself,  he  will  cast 
himself  on  the  care  and  providence  of  God 
with  renewed  confidence. 

A  review  of  one's  personal  history  will  also 
lead  him  to  admire  the  wonder-working  provi- 
dence of  God.  He  will  see  how  great  events 
have   often   turned   upon  slight  contingencies; 


2 


A  MEMORIAL  or 


and  how,  if  the  scale,  which  seemed  almost 
evenly  balanced,  had  turned  differently  from 
what  it  did,  a  new  turn  would  have  been 
given  to  the  whole  course  of  his  life. 

In  short,  a  review  of  one's  personal  history,  if 
wisely  conducted,  will  lead  to  increased  penitence, 
humility,  and  self-distrust ;  to  unfeigned  gratitude 
and  confidence  in  God  ;  to  renewed  watchfulness, 
resolution,  and  devotion  in  the  divine  life  ;  and 
thus  to  continual  growth  in  grace  and  meetness 
for  Heaven. 

Impressed  with  such  considerations,  and  urged 
to  it  by  some  of  my  dearest  friends,  being  now 
in  my  usual  health  and  vigor  of  body  and  mind, 
though  at  the  age  of  seventy-two,  I  sit  down 
this  twenty-second  of  December,  1863,  to  write 
out  some  account  of  my  life  and  personal  expe- 
rience. How  far  it  will  proceed,  and  when  it 
will  end,  and  where,  the  providence  of  God  alone 
can  determine. 


HEY.  ENOCH  l'OND,  D.D. 


3 


CHAPTER  I. 

PARENTAGE,  EARLY  LIFE,  AND  STUDIES. 

"  The  sceils  of  that  definite  form  which  each  individual  life  event- 
ually assumes  will  he  found  to  lie  within  its  early  history.  I'sually 
a  man's  early  life  and  position  will  be  found  to  contain  the  genu,  and 
to  furnish  the  Interpretation,  of  his  future  character." 

T  WAS  bom  iii  the  town  of  Wrentham,  Mass., 
±  July  29, 1791.  My  father  was  of  English  and 
puritan  descent.  His  name  was  Elijah  Pond,  who 
was  the  son  of  Jacob  Pond,  who  was  the  son  of 
Jacob  Pond,  who  was  the  son  of  Ephraim  Pond, 
who  was  the  son  of  Ephraim  Pond,  who  was 
the  son  of  Daniel  Pond,  who  settled  in  the 
town  of  Dedham  in  1652.  My  ancestors,  from 
their  first  coming  to  this  country,  have  all  lived 
within  a  few  miles  of  the  same  spot. 

M\*  mother  was  Mary  Smith,  the  eldest 
daughter  of  James  Smith,  the  only  son  of 
Colonel  John  Smith,  who  came  with  his  wife 
from  Donegal,  in  Ireland,  about  the  middle  of 
the  last  century.  They  were  prosperous,  re- 
spectable people  of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  and 
they  settled  in  Wrentham.  My  mother  Avas  an 
energetic,  strong-minded  woman,  devoted  to  her 
family  and  eminent  for  piety,  to  whom  her 
children  are  under  the  greatest  obligation.  My 
father  and  mother  were  not  church  members  at 
the  time  of  my  birth,  but  became  such  a  few 


4 


A  MEMORIAL  OE 


years  afterward.  When  my  mother  united  with 
the  church  Mr.  Cleveland  preached  from  the 
text,  "  And  Mary  hath  chosen  the  good  part 
which  shall  never  he  taken  from  her."  My 
mother  was  a  fine  singer,  and  for  years  led  the 
treble  voices  in  the  "  singers'  seats."  I  well 
remember  the  day  when  we  children  were 
baptized  in  the  North  Wrentham  meeting- 
house. It  was  then  unfinished,  and  the  occasion 
was  a  solemn  one  to  me  and  left  an  impression 
which  has  never  been  effaced.  We  were  bajrtized 
by  our  excellent  pastor  Rev.  John  Cleveland. 
My  father  became  a  deacon  in  this  church,  as 
were  his  father  and  grandfather  before  him. 
Many  years  after,  on  account  of  greater  conven- 
ience in  attending  meeting,  our  family  worshiped 
with  the  church  at  Wrentham  Centre. 

Of  this  old  church,  and  the  service  of  baptism,  a  sister  of 
my  father  writes  :  — 

The  meeting-house  was  built  after  the  fashion  of  those 
days,  and  was  literally  li  set  on  a  hill,"  so  high.  M  steep. 
I  never  remember  seeing  a  carriage  brought  to  the  door. 
You  may  be  sure  it  required  a  good  deal  of  strength  to 
ascend  these  "  courts  of  the  Lord."  Why  such  tremendous 
( levations  were  chosen  in  those  days  is  a  marvel.  The 
building  was  rather  small,  painted  light-yellow,  and  without 
ornament.  A  double  door  in  front  opened  directly  into  the 
sanctuary.  There  were  three  aisles,  and  square  pews  like 
little  pens  opening  directly  from  them.  A  large  pew  at 
the  foot  of  the  elevated  pulpit  was  called  the  "  deacon's 
seat."  Three  galleries  were  built  on  high.  In  one  of  these 
were  the  "  singers'  seats,"  and  before  the  days  when 
'•stringed  instruments  "  might  be  used  in  the  worship  of  the 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


5 


puritan  saints,  the  twang  of  the  pitch-pipe  preceded  the  burst 
of  sacred  song.  In  the  deacon's  seat  might  be  seen,  from 
Sabbath  to  Sabbath,  those  elderly  gentlemen,  men  of  renown, 
listening  to  the  preached  word;  or  with  great  reverence 
rising  up  and  standing  when  prayer  was  offered  to  that  God 
"  before  whom  angels  bow,  and  archangels  veil  their  faces." 
The  railing  of  the  stairs  that  led  to  the  high  pulpit  was 
of  "carved  work"  and,  with  the  pulpit  and  its  suspended 
•  sounding-board,"'  was  painted  sombre  sea-green  color. 
There  were  two  porches,  one  on  each  end  of  the  house. 
One  was  called  the  women's  porch,  the  other  the  men's 
porch.  In  these  were  the  stairs  leading  to  the  three 
galleries ;  and  the  long,  big  bellrope  was  coiled  in  the  men's 
porch,  an  object  of  great  curiosity  to  the  little  boys,  who 
longed  to  give  it  a  pull.  The  good  people  worshiped  in 
this  house  long  before  it  was  finished;  and  it  was  during 
this  period  that  jour  blessed  father  was  baptized,  from 
a  quart  pewter-basin  standing  on  a  little  table  by  Mr. 
Cleveland's  armchair.  After  the  service,  I  do  not  doubt, 
the  one  hundred  and  twenty-first  hymn  of  the  first  book, 
in  the  old  "  Watts  and  Select  Hymns,"  was  sung  to  the  tune 
of  St.  Martin's,  as  this  hymn  was  invariably  selected  by  Mr. 
Cleveland  when  a  baby  was  baptized.  I  seem  now  to  hear 
those  long  ago  hushed  voices  singing :  — 

"Thus,  later  saints,  Eternal  King, 
Thine  ancient  truth  embrace, 
To  Thee  their  infant  offspring  bring, 
Ami  humbly  claim  Thy  grace." 

I  was  named  Enoch  for  my  uncle  Enoch  Pond, 
who  was  graduated  at  Brown  University  in  1777, 
and  was  for  many  years  pastor  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church  in  Ashford,  Conn.  In  my  early 
years  I  was  called  a  thoughtful,  steady  boy.  I  had 
a  great  taste  for  learning,  and  was  particularly 
desirous  of  being  at  the  head  of  my  class  in 


6 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


school  —  a  thing  which  I  generally  accomplished. 
The  schoolhouse  is  still  standing.  It  is  near 
my  old  home.  It  was  then  painted  red,  on  the 
outside,  and  was  rough  enough  within.  About 
three  years  ago,  I  saw  a  widow  lady  in  Augusta, 
Maine,  who  was  nearly  one  hundred  years  old. 
Her  native  place  was  Wrentham,  and  she  claimed 
to  have  taught  me  my  letters.  I  think  she  did. 
She  told  me  of  teaching  school  in  my  native 
district,  and  of  boarding  at  my  father's  house. 
"Mr.  Pond,"  said  she,  "had  two  little  boys, 
Enoch  and  Preston.  Enoch  was  a  very  good 
boy,  but  Preston  was  a  great  rogue." 

"  "Well,"  I  said,  "  I  suppose  I  am  Enoch."  She 
looked  at  me  with  great  interest,  and  I  looked 
upon  her  with  feelings  bordering  on  veneration. 
The  time  passed  uneventfully  at  my  native 
home,  which  was  the  home  also  of  my  grand- 
parents, then  living.  My  ancestors,  on  my 
father's  side,  were  all  of  them  farmers,  who 
owned  and  worked  their  own  farms,  and  lived 
in  a  frugal,  industrious  way,  almost  independent 
of  the  rest  of  the  world.  They  received  but 
little  money  and  needed  but  little,  living  chiefly 
on  the  produce  of  their  farms  and  the  labor  of 
their  hands.  The  spinning-wheel  and  the  hand- 
loom,  in  the  busy  hands  of  the  mothers,  wrought 
the  clothing  ;  the  fruitful  fields  and  broad  forests 
yielded  food  and  fuel.  There  was  no  greed  of 
wealth,  nor  strife  for  fashion.  They  mingled  but 
little  with  the  outside  world,  had  few  tempta- 
tions, and  trained  their  families  to  the  fear  and 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


7 


service  of  the  Lord.  I  deem  it  one  of  the 
greatest  blessings  of  my  life,  that  I  am  able  to 
look  back  on  a  long  line  of  industrious,  upright, 
and  truly  Christian  ancestors. 

We  all  went  three  miles  to  meeting  on  the 
Sabbath. 

The  flood  of  juvenile  books  had  not  then  burst 
upon  the  country.  We  fed  our  minds  on  the 
same  intellectual  food  as  did  our  parents,  and  it 
stimulated  our  thoughts  and  enlarged  our  mental 
powers.  Except  the  three  months  of  school  in  the 
summer,  and  the  three  months  in  winter,  I  worked, 
as  I  was  able,  on  the  farm.  One  of  the  best 
things  my  father  ever  did  for  me  and  for  his 
other  children  was  to  keep  us  constantly  em- 
ployed. We  never  worked  hard,  but  we  had  no 
idle  days.  Each  day  brought  with  it  something 
to  be  done.  In  this  way,  habits  of  industry  were 
early  formed,  which  I  have  never  lost.  I  have 
often  said  I  would  rather  go  to  prison  for  six 
months,  with  my  books  and  papers,  than  be 
doomed  for  the  same  length  of  time  to  do 
nothing. 

At  the  age  of  twelve  I  visited  my  uncle,  the 
minister  of  Ashford,  and  spent  a  year  with  him. 
I  had  a  great  admiration  for  my  uncle  and  aunt, 
and  hoped  to  enjoy  a  great  deal  in  his  family : 
and  I  did.  All  my  uncle's  family  were  skilled 
in  music.  I  was  most  kindly  treated  by  them  ; 
I  was  a  favorite  with  them,  and  was  introduced 
to  much  young  company.  My  manners  were 
improved,  but   I   fear   my  heart  was   not.  1 


8 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


became  idle,  vain,  and  thoughtless.  I  learned  to 
sing  while  at  Ashford,  but  do  not  remember  that 
I  learned  anything  else  of  importance  to  me. 

I  returned  to  Wrentham  in  the  summer  of 
1804,  when  I  was  thirteen  years  old.  During 
the  preceding  spring,  there  had  been  a  revival 
of  religion  in  Wrentham,  which  was  in  progress 
at  the  time  of  my  return.  Many  of  my  young 
friends  were  serious,  and  several  had  indulged  a 
hope  in  Christ,  among  whom  was  my  elder  sister 
Harriet.  I  felt  the  importance  of  religion,  sym- 
pathized with  those  who  had  become  interested 
in  it,  associated  with  them,  and  erelong  began 
to  think  I  was  one  of  their  number. 

But  the  depravity  of  my  heart  had  not  been 
discovered  to  me  ;  much  less  had  it  been  broken 
up.  My  serious  impressions  did  not  last  long, 
and,  for  the  next  three  years  of  my  life,  I  became 
more  wicked  than  I  had  ever  been  before.  I 
attended  church  as  usual ;  but  was  fond  of  gay 
company,  was  restive  under  family  restraints, 
and  even  learned,  when  among  my  companions, 
to  use  profane  language.  My  watchful  father 
heard  of  this,  and  reproved  me  for  it.  His 
remarks  did  not  offend,  but  grieved  me,  and 
were  a  blessing  to  me ;  for  the  evil  habit  was 
abandoned  before  it  became  confirmed. 

I  still  loved  learning,  and  improved  all  my 
opportunities  to  acquire  a  good  English  educa- 
tion. So  successful  was  I  in  this  pursuit,  that, 
in  the  winter  of  1807-8,  when  I  was  only  six- 
teen years  old,  I  was  employed  as  teacher  in  one 


KEV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


9 


of  our  district  schools.  For  the  next  six  winters 
I  continued  this  employment.  In  some  winters 
I  taught  two  schools.  And  here  let  me  say  a 
word  as  to  this  matter  of  teaching,  especially  as 
the  schools  were  then  conducted  in  country  towns. 
As  the  schools  were  not  graded,  all  the  scholars 
of  the  district,  from  four  years  old  and  upward, 
came  together,  and  must  be  classified  by  the 
teacher  as  best  he  could. 

Sometimes  he  would  have  more  than  a  dozen 
classes,  from  those  learning  the  alphabet  up- 
ward, all  of  which  must  be  attended  to  forenoon 
and  afternoon.  He  had  a  large  class  of  writers, 
for  whom  copies  must  be  set  and  pens  (goose- 
quills)  made  and  mended.  He  had  many  studying 
arithmetic,  and  for  these  sums  must  be  set,  looked 
over,  and  approved  ;  or,  when  puzzled,  the  pupils 
must  be  helped  over  their  difficulties.  He  had 
several  classes  in  English  grammar,  whose  lessons 
must  be  heard  and  explained ;  and  not  unfre- 
quently  those  studying  the  higher  branches  of 
algebra,  geometry,  and  Latin.  And,  hardest  of 
all,  the  teacher  must  prevent  noise  and  whisper- 
ing, quell  disorder,  and  administer  the  govern- 
ment of  the  school ;  for  which  he  needed  eyes 
all  around  him.  I  never  sat  down  during  school 
hours,  walking  the  room  with  a  little  switch 
under  my  arm,  and  frequently  administering 
warning  touches  about  the  ears  and  fingers  of 
the  unruly  rogues.  I  speak  from  long  and  pain- 
ful experience,  and  I  must  say  that,  if  any  poor 
creature  is  ever  to  be  pitied,  it  is  the  teacher  of 


10 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


one  of  these  large  old-fashioned  district  schools.  I 
succeeded  in  teaching  to  the  satisfaction  of  my 
employers,  and  perhaps  as  well  as  young  men 
generally,  who  engage  in  it  merely  as  a  means 
to  an  end ;  but  if  ever  there  was  a  load  imposed 
on  a  feeble  mortal  sufficient  to  press  the  very  life 
out  of  him,  the  teaching  of  such  a  school  as  1 
have  described  was  that  load.  Let  us  be  thank; 
ful  that  there  has  been  so  much  improvement  in 
the  books  provided,  the  many  helps  to  teachers, 
and  in  the  whole  method  of  conducting  schools, 
especially  in  our  cities  and  larger  towns,  since 
the  period  of  which  I  speak. 

About  six  weeks  before  bis  death;  my  father  received  a 
letter  from  an  old  gentleman  in  Illinois,  who  was  his  pupil 
in  that  first  school,  taught  by  him  when  he  was  sixteen 
years  old.  The  affectionate  remembrance,  and  the  kind 
interest,  expressed  by  this  aged  pupil  for  his  aged  teacher 
touched  my  father  deeply. 

Though  a  youthful  teacher,  and  though  these  schools 
were  largely  made  up  of  unrul}'  boys,  such  was  his  prowess, 
his  prudence,  and  quick-sighted  observation,  that  he  gained 
the  respect  and  ready  obedience  of  the  greater  part  of  his 
pupils.  Ho  had  a  pleasing  address  and  a  winning  playful- 
ness which  did  not  at  all  lower  his  dignity;  but  it  was 
suited  to  call  forth  the  admiration  of  his  school.  His 
scholars  always  progressed  rapidly;  and  when  trouble  from 
some  of  the  overgrown  evildoers  threatened,  without 
appearing  to  know  their  plans,  he  pleasantly  outwitted 
them,  and,  with  a  graceful  unconsciousness,  set  aside  and 
made  impossible  the  execution  of  the  plans  of  these  'sons 
of  Belial,'  leaving  them  angry  and  defeated." 

For  the  next  two  years  I  continued  to  teach 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D.  11 

school  in  the  winter,  and  work  on  the  farm  in 
the  summer  ;  and  it  was  my  father's  plan  that 
I  should  continue  to  do  so,  and  at  length  heeome 
settled  with  him  on  the  homestead.  But  my 
desire  for  learning  led  me  to  think  of  a  liberal 
education.  Besides,  from  my  earliest  years,  I  had 
a  desire  to  be  a  minister,  and  a  kind  of  a  prenenU 
intent  that  I  should  be  one.  I  made  no  preten- 
sions to  religion  at  this  time,  and  gave  no  evidence 
cf  possessing  it;  yet  I  had  a  strong  desire  for 
a  liberal  education,  that  I  might  become,  if  pre- 
pared for  it,  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  Thus 
things  went  on  within  me  and  around  me  until 
about  midsummer  of  1809.  It  was  the  haying 
season,  and  there  were  several  days  of  heavy, 
rainy  weather,  when  nothing  could  be  done  on 
the  farm.  I  improved  this  opportunity  to  get 
a  Latin  grammar,  and  commenced  studying  it 
in  the  Academy  at  Wrentham  ("  Day's  Acad- 
emy"), about  two  and  a  half  miles  from  my 
father's  home.  ~My  father,  finding  I  had  taken 
this  decisive  step,  made  no  further  objection,  and 
I  was  allowed  to  go  on  in  my  chosen  pursuit.  It 
was  now  about  six  weeks  to  the  end  of  the 
term  ;  and  in  this  ti:ne  I  had  mastered  the  Latin 
grammar  and  J'sop's  Fables,  and  commenced 
my  recitations  in  Virgil.  I  allowed  myself  no 
vacation,  but  pushed  forward  as  fast  as  possible, 
and  before  my  winter  school  began,  had  finished 
Virgil  and  commenced  on  the  Orations  of  Cicero. 
My  circumstances  made  it  necessary  I  should  teach 
school  this  winter,  and  it  proved  the  longest  and 


12 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


hardest  I  ever  taught.  Still  I  gave  my  evenings 
to  stud}r,  and  before  the  school  ended  I  had 
finished  the  Orations. 

It  was  during  this  winter,  and  while  teaching 
this  hard  school,  that  I  think  my  heart  was 
changed,  and  I  became  reconciled  to  God.  My 
pastor  had  been  reading  "  Faber  on  the  Prophe- 
cies," and  had  preached  several  sermons  on  the 
subject.  I  was  impressed  with  the  idea  that 
great  changes  were  coming  on  the  earth ;  that 
naught  but  destruction  awaited  the  enemies  of 
God,  and  that  it  was  quite  time  for  me  to  take 
my  stand  upon  the  Lord's  side.  The  burden  of 
my  school  also  oppressed  me,  and  made  me 
feel  more  than  ever  that  I  needed  strength  and 
support  from  on  high;  but  I  do  not  remember 
that  I  was  deeply  convicted  or  disturbed  for  sin. 
One  evening,  when  the  family  in  which  I  boarded 
were  absent  and  I  sat  alone,  unable  to  study, 
and  absorbed  in  such  thoughts  as  I  have  de- 
scribed, a  new  feeling  came  over  me,  or  a  new 
affection  sprang  up  in  my  soul.  It  was  one  of 
entire  submission  and  cordial  reconciliation  to 
the  Will  of  God.  I  rejoiced  to  be  in  his  hands 
and  under  his  government,  and  was  willing  he 
should  do  with  me  as  seemed  good  in  his  sight. 

I  expeiienced  no  high  emotions  of  joy,  but  my 
habitual  feeling  was  one  of  entire  submission  to 
the  Divine  Will.  This  was  attended,  of  course, 
with  inward  peace,  and  this  peace  was  abiding. 
It  has  been  the  predominant  feature  of  my  re- 
ligious experience  ever  since. 


REV.  ENOCH  POXD,  D.  D. 


13 


'•Yield  to  the  Lord  with  simple  heart, 
All  that  thou  hast,  and  all  thou  art ; 
Kenounee  all  strength  but  strength  divine, 
And  peace  forever  shall  be  thine."' 

My  practice  at  this  time  was  to  go  to  my 
schoolroom  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
ai id  make  a  fire,  that  everything  might  be  in 
readiness  when  the  scholars  came.  After  build- 
ing the  fire,  I  usually  had  about  half  an  hour 
by  myself.  I  well  remember  how  pleasantly  I 
employed  this  little  season  in  reading  the  Scrip- 
tures, meditation,  and  prayer.  I  read  over  the 
fourteenth  chapter  of  John  till  I  could  say  it 
as  well  without  the  book  as  with  it.  "  Let  not 
your  heart  be  troubled,  neither  let  it  be  afraid ; 
ye  believe  in  God,  believe  also  in  me."  M  Peace 
I  leavje  with  you,  my  peace  I  give  unto  you:  not 
as  the  world  giveth,  give  I  unto  you."  I  felt  at 
the  time  that  this  precious  promise  was  verified 
unto  me.  Still,  I  did  not  really  believe  I  had 
experienced  a  change  of  heart,  and  said  nothing 
about  it  to  any  one  for  some  months.  My  studies 
were  the  engrossing  subject,  and  these  occupied 
my  mind  almost  to  the  exclusion  of  everything 
else.  When  my  school  was  out,  I  returned  to 
the  Academy  and  commenced  the  study  of  Greek. 
I  soon  went  through  the  Greek  grammar,  and 
then  read  the  Greek  New  Testament,  and  a 
part  of  Xenophon.  I  also  reviewed  my  Latin 
studies,  and  read  a  considerable  part  of  Horace. 
In  all  but  the  classics,  I  had  previously  fitted 
for  college,  and  the  result  was,  that  at  Com- 


14 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


mencement  in  Brown  University,  in  September, 
1810,  I  was  examined  for  admission  to  the  Sopho- 
more class,  and  was  received  I  have  often 
regretted  that  I  went  through  the  preparatory- 
studies  of  college  with  such  rapidity.  To  be 
sure,  I  acquired  readily  and  could  read  Latin 
and  Greek  with  fluency ;  yet  my  preparation 
lacked  thoroughness ;  and  I  formed  the  habit  of 
passing  over  my  books  and  studies  rapidly,  which 
has,  in  some  instances,  been  a  disadvantage  to 
me.  I  have  often  wondered,  too,  that  my  health 
did  not  suffer.  Exchanging  the  active  labors  of 
the  farm  for  such  intense  and  constant  applica- 
tion to  study,  it  is  a  wonder  that  my  constitution 
did  not  break  down  at  once.  Very  often  I  used 
to  get  uy>  in  the  night,  pore  over  my  Latin  and 
Greek  an  hour  or  two,  and  then  go  to  bed  again 
and  fall  asleep.  I  can  think  of  but  one  thing 
that  saved  me  from  utter  prostration  at  this 
period.  I  boarded  at  home,  and  was  under  the 
necessity  of  walking  some  five  miles  every  day 
to  and  from  the  Academy. 


KEY.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


15 


CHAPTER  II. 


COLLEGE  LIFE  AND  THEOLOGICAL  STUDIES. 

TPON  entering  college  a  }rear  in  advance,  I 


found  myself  surrounded  by  a  large  class, 
the  most  of  whom  were  mature  and  strong  men, 
and  who,  I  knew,  had  the  advantage  over  me  of 
having  heen  there  through  the  Freshman  year. 
Still  I  was  determined  to  stand  up  with  them 
as  an  equal,  and  my  past  success  as  a  student 
encouraged  me  to  hope  I  should  do  so. 

Indeed,  I  have  often  laughed  at  the  views  with 
which  I  entered  college  ;  at  my  self-conceits  and 
almost  litter  ignorance  of  what  was  hefore  me. 
I  know  not  that  any  Sophomore  ever  felt  as 
I  did ;  it  was  really  a  wonder  to  me  what  my 
teachers  would  find  to  set  hefore  me  in  addition 
to  what  I  then  knew,  to  occupy  my  thoughts 
for  the  long  space  of  three  years.  It  seemed 
as  though  in  that  period  I  should  be  able  to 
master  all  the  sciences,  and  even  more.  But  it 
was  not  long  before  my  views  began  to  be 
sobered,  and  they  have  been  growing  more  sober 
and  moderate  ever  since.  I  have  now  been 
a  constant  and  diligent  student  for  more  than 
fifty  years ;  and  so  far  from  traversing  the  whole 
circle  of  the  sciences,  I  feel  ashamed  of  know- 
ing so  little  of  any  one  of  them.    I  feel  now 


16 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


that  my  work  as  a  student  has  but  just  begun; 
and  though  it  must  soon  terminate  on  the  shores 
of  time,  I  hope  to  resume  it,  and  carry  it  forward 
indefinitely,  in  a  future  world. 

To  return  to  my  college  life.  As  I  had  hut 
three  years  before  me,  I  determined  to  make 
the  most  of  them.  In  order  to  do  this,  I  resolved 
that  I  would  not  be  absent,  when  I  could  avoid 
it,  from  college  during  term  time.  And  this 
resolution  I  was  able  to  carry  into  effect.  I  was 
under  the  necessity  of  teaching,  during  each 
winter,  one  school ;  but  I  taught  only  through 
the  eight  weeks  of  college  vacation.  I  was  re- 
solved, too,-  not  to  be  absent  from  any  college 
exercise  or  recitation  where  I  was  expected  to 
be  present.  And  this  resolution  I  accomplished. 
While  the  names  of  other  students  were  frequently 
called  over  for  absence,  or  other  delinquencies, 
mine  was  not  called  in  a  single  instance.  I 
formed  still  another  plan  when  I  entered  col- 
lege, to  which  I  adhered,  and  which  I  would 
commend  to  the  notice  of  students.  I  resolved 
that  the  lesson  for  the  time  should  first  be  mas- 
tered, and  then,  if  leisure  remained,  it  might  be 
devoted  to  miscellaneous  reading  or  writing,  or 
to  recreation.  But,  first  of  all,  the  lesson  must  be 
attended  to,  and  due  preparation  made  for  the 
recitation.  My  college  life  passed  rapidly  and 
pleasantly  away.  For  my  classmates  generally 
I  had  a  high  regard,  and  they  manifested  the 
same  regard  for  me.  For  some  of  them  I  felt 
a  strong  affection  ;  and  attachments  were  formed 


REV.  EXOCII  POND,  D.  D. 


IT 


as  lasting  as  life,  —  even  more  so;  attachments  that 
reach  over  to  another  life,  and  will  be  renewed  in 
heaven. 

In  the  winter  after  entering  college,  I  made 
known  my  religious  feelings  to  my  pastor  and 
to  other  Christian  friends,  and  made  a  public 
profession  of  religion.  I  joined  the  North 
Church  in  Wrentham,  the  same  in  which  I  had 
been  baptized,  and  continued  to  be  a  member 
of  it  till  my  settlement  in  the  ministry. 

The  thoroughness  and  strength  of  our  father's  religious 
convictions  are  shown  in  the  relation  of  his  experience, 
prepared  for  the  church  when  he  asked  to  he  received  into 
it.  The  very  document  lies  before  me.  the  paper  yellow, 
the  ink  faded,  but  the  light  of  the  Christian  life  there 
recorded  in  its  dawn  "  shone  brighter  and  brighter,  till  the 
perfect  day."  After  recording  with  gratitude  the  blessing 
of  his  Christian  home,  and  regretting  the  earlier  years  of 
life,  when  the  instructions  of  parents  and  the  strivings  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  were  stubbornly  resisted,  my  father  writes 
thus : — 

In  the  year  1805,  I  returned  from  my  uncle's 
house,  in  Ashford,  Conn.,  to  find  new  scenes  in 
my  native  "village.  I  found  my  old  friends 
very  solemn,  and  much  engaged  in  religious 
concerns.  I  was  disturbed ;  and  I  was  resolved, 
at  any  cost,  to  be  religious  too.  I  resolved 
to  leave  off  evil  habits  and  be  a  saint  as  well 
as  they.  Accordingly,  I  professed  to  some  of 
my  friends  that  I  had  a  hope  I  was  a  Christian 
and  a  friend  of  Jesus.  They  rejoiced  at  the 
news,  and  my  vain  heart  swelled  with  pride  at 


18 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


the  thought  that  I  was  esteemed  as  good  as 
they.  I  indulged  these  sentiments  to  such  a 
degree,  that  at  last  I  believed  myself  a  real 
Christian,  and  began  to  talk  of  a  profession  of 
religion.  But  temptation  taught  me  a  lesson  I 
could  have  learned  in  no  other  way,  of  the 
weakness  of  human  strength.  I  no  sooner  found 
that,  in  order  to  sustain  the  character  of  a  saint, 
I  must  endure  the  scorn  and  derision  of  the 
world,  that  I  must  take  up  the  cross  and  follow 
the  Redeemer,  than  my  heart  fainted.  I  basely 
deserted  the  cause  I  had  espoused ;  I  was  willing 
to  show  the  world  that  I  was  ashamed  of  my 
religious  professions,  and  that  my  serious  impres- 
sions were  even  less  permanent  than  the  "  morn- 
ing cloud  and  early  dew."  I  now  abandoned 
all  serious  thought.  I  commenced  a  career  of 
sin  and  folly,  and  rejoiced  in  the  awful  liberty 
I  enjoyed.  Thus  I  lived,  though  not  without 
some  severe  compunctions  of  conscience,  till  the 
fall  of  the  year  1809.  At  that  time  I  tarried, 
one  noon,  to  witness  the  administration  of  the 
Lord's  Supper.  After  the  sacrament  was  over, 
the  church  sang,  in  the  tune  of  Brookfield,  the 
first  of  Dr.  Watts'  hymns  in  the  third  book, 
'T  was  on  that  dark  and  doleful  night."'  It  was 
to  me  a  solemn  occasion.  It  seemed  to  me  as 
if  God  and  holy  angels  were  looking  down  with 
complacence  on  the  small  fraternal  band  who 
were  sitting  around  the  table  of  their  Master; 
while  I  was  shut  out,  and  justly  doomed  to  eternal 
destruction.     I  was  pricked  to  the  heart,  and 


KEY.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


19 


found  it  extremely  difficult  to  rid  myself  of  my 
convictions  of  sinfulness  and  ill  desert.  I  had, 
however,  nearly  succeeded  in  calming  my  mind, 
when  I  again  was  roused  more  effectually  than 
before,  by  hearing  a  sermon  preached  on  the 
speedy  approach  of  the  millennium,  and  the 
dreadful  overthrow  of  the  enemies  of  Christ.  I 
plainly  saw,  if  the  Bible  were  true,  there  was 
nothing  before  me  but  trouble  in  this  world,  and 
everlasting  destruction  in  the  world  to  come.  I 
was  more  sensible  than  ever  before  of  my  exceed- 
ing sinfulness.  Although  I  perfectly  hated  the 
attributes  and  character  of  God,  yet  I  was  con- 
vinced I  must  pronounce  his  sentence  just,  should 
he  immediately  condemn  me  to  eternal  despair.  I 
was  greatly  distressed ;  I  knew  not  which  way  to 
fly,  for  on  either  side  I  could  see  only  horror  and 
woe.  Thus,  for  a  number  of  days,  I  continued 
quarreling  with  the  Almighty,  and  striving  to 
get  myself  out  of  his  hands.  One  evening  I  was 
alone  in  my  room.  I  was  more  than  usually 
impressed  with  the  concerns  of  my  soul,  and  I 
at  last  resolved  to  give  myself  up  to  my  gloomy 
reflections  and  no  longer  to  strive  and  fight 
against  them.  At  that  moment  a  volition,  which 
I  had  never  before  felt,  arose  evidently  in  ivy 
mind.  I  was  willing  to  lie  at  the  feet  of  the 
Saviour,  and  to  be  anything  which  the  Almighty 
was  pleased  to  have  me.  I  felt  my  heart  acqui- 
esce in  his  government,  and  I  could  from  my 
soul  say,  "  Thy  will  be  done."  I  was  immedi- 
ately sensible  of  a  great  change  in  my  views 


20 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


and  feelings,  but  I  did  not  know  whether  it 
would  be  termed  conversion.  As  I  had  once 
deceived  my  friends  in  this  respect,  I  dared  not 
make  any  professions  to  them,  lest  I  should  be 
again  guilty  of  the  same  sin.  Thus  I  lived, 
generally  in  doubt  with  respect  to  the  state  of  my 
soul,  until  the  last  spring.  I  was  then  especially 
favored  with  the  light  of  God's  countenance,  and 
enabled  to  sing  of  mercy  as  well  as  judgment.  I 
then,  for  the  first  time,  communicated  my  feelings 
to  my  Christian  friends.  Since  that  time  I  have 
given  myself  much  to  the  examination  of  my  own 
heart.  I  find  I  am  a  very  sinful  creature,  but  1 
hope  I  can  rely  on  the  merits  of  my  Redeemer. 
All  the  attributes  of  God  appear  beautiful  and 
glorious,  and  I  humbly  think  I  can  acquiesce  in 
his  dispensations.  God's  law  appears  just,  and 
exactty  conformable  to  the  rule  of  right ;  and, 
although  I  am  continually  committing  offences 
against  it,  I  am  sure  I  abhor  myself  for  them.  I 
have  a  great  desire  to  espouse  the  cause  of  the 
Redeemer,  and  to  side  with  him  against  an  oppos- 
ing world,  and  to  obey  all  his  divine  commands. 
I  therefore  offer  myself  to  this  church,  begging 
your  acceptance  of  me  as  a  member  of  your 
Christian  fraternity,  and  your  earnest  prayers  for 
me,  that  I  may  rely  wholly  on  the  arm  of  Jesus 
for  support ;  that  I  may  live  a  life  of  obedience  to 
God ;  and  especially  that  I  may  never  be  left  to 
dishonor  the  holy  religion  which  I  now  profess. 

ENOCH  POND. 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


21 


lie  was  propounded  for  admission  to  the  church  on 
January  19,  1S12,  and  received  to  its  communion  February 
2d,  of  the  same  year. 

On  my  return  to  college,  I  disclosed  to  my 
religious  friends  there  the  step  I  had  taken,  and 
this  introduced  me  to  their  "  praying  circle,"  and 
the  Theological  Society,  from  both  of  which  I 
derived  much  satisfaction  and  improvement.  In 
the  discussions  of  the  Theological  Society  I  took 
an  active  part,  and  they  proved  a  great  advantage 
to  me,  not  only  as  a  theologian,  but  as  an  extem- 
poraneous speaker.  During  my  residence  in  col- 
lege I  met  with  a  great  deal  of  goodness,  and  also 
with  a  great  deal  of  wickedness.  I  saw  more  of 
vice  in  its  grosser  forms,  intemperance,  profane- 
ness,  and  debauchery,  than  ever  before  in  my  life. 
Temptations  were  everywhere ;  but,  by  the  grace 
of  God,  I  was  enabled  to  avoid  them  and  pass 
unharmed  through  the  ordeal. 

During  my  whole  college  life  I  attended  the 
preaching  of  Rev.  Thomas  Williams,  then  a  settled 
minister,  pastor  of  the  Richmond  Street  Church, 
Providence,  R.  I.  And  I  may  say  here,  what  I 
have  often  said  before,  that  from  no  preaching 
I  have  ever  listened  to  have  I  derived  so  much 
advantage.  This  was  before  he  was  visited  by 
those  fits  of  insanity,  with  which  he  was  affected 
in  later  years.  He  was  an  eccentric  character  at 
this  time,  but  of  sound  mind.  His  preaching  was 
instructive,  clear,  methodical,  earnest.  I  com- 
menced, soon  after  I  began  to  hear  him,  not 
taking  notes  in  the  church,  but  writing  down  what 


22 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


I  could  recollect  of  the  sermon  on  my  return 
home  ;  and  I  soon  found  I  could  remember  nearly 
the  whole  sermon,  and  could  have  written  it  out. 
I  would  commend  this  method  to  the  young  as  the 
best.  The  taking  of  notes  at  the  time  of  delivery, 
and  trusting  to  them,  seems  rather  to  weaken  and 
injure  the  memory.  If  scholars  begin  early  to 
trust  to  their  memories,  they  will  find  them  grow 
more  and  more  retentive.  To  return  to  my  old 
friend  and  pastor  Mr.  Williams.  He  was  a  special 
friend  of  Dr.  Emmons.  Their  meetings  were 
frequent  and  intimate.  Dr.  Emmons  requested 
Mr.  Williams  to  preach  his  funeral  sermon,  if  he 
should  outlive  him.  He  gave  his  pledge  that 
he  would  do  so,  and  after  preparing  the  sermon, 
at  the  request  of  Dr.  Emmons,  he  read  it  to  him. 

Mr.  Williams  had  no  ability  or  taste  for  worldly 
matters.  He  was  generally  in  want ;  and  left  his 
family,  I  suppose,  chiefly  to  the  care  of  his  ex- 
cellent wife.  His  native  talents  were  of  a  high 
order:  a  clear  and  vigorous  understanding,  a  warm 
heart,  a  fine  flow  of  natural  sensibility  pouring 
itself  forth  in  fluent  speech,  and  often  in  sparkling 
wit  and  humor.  His  numerous  witticisms  are 
current  in  all  the  region  where  he  lived.  He  would 
have  been  a  better  minister  could  he  have  enjoyed 
in  early  life  a  wider  breadth  of  culture,  and  had 
his  mind  been  free  from  a  tendency  to  disease. 
As  it  is,  he  will  be  long  and  affectionately  remem- 
bered by  a  large  circle  of  religious  friends,  many 
of  whom  he  has  helped  forward  in  the  way  to 
heaven  by  his  counsels. 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


23 


My  college  life  passed  rapidly  away  ;  so  rapidly 
that,  before  we  were  aware  of  it,  our  Senior  year 
was  drawing  to  a  close,  and  preparations  making 
for  the  final  examinations  and  the  exercises  of 
Commencement.  A  part  was  assigned  to  me, 
which  I  did  not  expect,  and  which,  at  the  time, 
I  did  not  think  I  deserved ;  and  I  think  so  still. 
It  devolved  on  me  to  deliver  the  valedictory 
address.  My  classmates,  so  far  as  I  know,  were 
quite  satisfied  with  the  assignment,  but  /  always 
felt  that  this  part  should  have  been  given  to  one 
who  had  the  salutatory  addresses  —  my  classmate 
Hawes,  now  the  venerable  Dr.  Joel  Hawes,  of 
Hartford,  Conn.  A  warm  friendship  continued 
between  this  classmate  and  myself  to  the  end  of 
his  long  life.  We  frequently  exchanged  visits. 
His  heart  was  full  of  Christian  kindness.  The 
loss  of  his  children  gave  a  peculiar  pathos  to  his 
last  days.  He  died,  greatly  lamented  in  connec- 
tion with  his  first  church  and  settlement,  in  Hart- 
ford, Conn. 

When  the  exercises  of  Commencement  were 
over,  I  returned  to  my  father's  house.  It  was  no 
longer  a  question  with  me  whether  I  should  study 
divinity  and  attempt  to  become  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel ;  but  it  became  a  very  serious  question : 
"  Where  shall  my  professional  studies  be  prose- 
cuted?" The  Seminary  at  Andover  had  then 
(1813)  been  several  years  in  operation,  and  there 
were  many  reasons  why  I  should  go  there  to  pur- 
sue my  studies.  But  I  was  in  a  hurry  to  get  into 
the  ministry,  and,  also,  my  health  had  been  some- 


24 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


what  impaired,  by  college  life.  Add  to  this,  that 
Dr.  Emmons,  of  Franklin,  Mass.,  lived  but  a  few 
miles  from  my  father's  house ;  that  his  reputation 
as  a  theological  teacher  was,  in  all  that  section  of 
country,  pre-eminent ;  that  I  had  known  him  from 
childhood,  had  often  heard  him  preach,  and  re- 
garded him  with  the  highest  veneration.  My 
family  friends  all  advised  me  to  resort  to  him,  and 
I  concluded  to  put  myself  under  his  instructions. 

This  question  was  virtually  settled,  and  I  had 
actually  commenced  my  theological  studies  before 
I  graduated  at  Providence.  I  have  been  asked 
whether  I  have  not  since  regretted  that  I  did  not 
take  a  full  course  at  Andover.  My  answer  has 
been  that,  so  far  as  theology  is  concerned,  I  have 
seen  no  occasion  of  regret.  As  a  teacher  of  the- 
ology Dr.  Emmons  had  no  superior  in  the  country. 
Though  I  had  studied  Hebrew  in  college,  I  have 
felt  the  need  of  the  training  I  should  have  had  in 
Andover  in  sacred  literature,  homiletics,  and  eccle- 
siastical history.  I  have  no  doubt  I  should  have 
made  a  more  acceptable  preacher,  especially  in  the 
earlier  part  of  my  ministry,  if  I  had  received 
more  instruction   in  these   important  branches. 

Dr.  Emmons's  method  of  instruction  was  that 
adopted  by  all  the  old  teachers  previous  to  the 
establishment  of  theological  seminaries.  He  de- 
livered no  lectures,  properly  so  called,  but  fur- 
nished his  pupils  with  a  long  list  of  subjects,  and 
the  books  to  be  consulted  under  each  subject,  and 
required  them  to  read,  rellect,  and  prepare  essays 
on  the  several  subjects,  to  be  read  before  him. 


REV.  ENOCH  POXD,  D.  D. 


25 


He  was  not  accustomed  to  favor  us  with  his 
opinions  before  we  had  written  on  the  doctrines 
to  be  examined,  preferring  we  should  exercise  our 
own  thougbts  upon  them,  and  investigate  them 
thoroughly  and  independently.  But  when  the 
time  for  reading  came,  he  was  very  free  in  his 
criticisms  and  remarks.  The  discussions  which 
took  place  in  connection  with  the  reading  of  these 
essays  were  always  interesting  and  sometimes 
considerably  protracted.  This  course  of  instruc- 
tion was  admirably  adapted  to  put  a  young  man 
on  his  own  resources,  and,  if  he  had  anything  in 
him,  to  draw  it  out.  The  planning  and  preparing 
of  essays  which  were  to  pass  the  ordeal  of  Dr. 
Emmons's  criticism  was  a  formidable  affair,  which 
no  one  would  be  willing  to  pass  lightly  over.  And 
then  this  course  of  reading,  thinking,  writing, 
and  discussing  upon  a  long  train  of  connected 
subjects  —  subjects  involving  questions  of  great 
difficulty  and  importance  —  was  adapted,  more 
than  almost  anything  beside,  to  stir  and  quicken 
the  soul.  Under  such  a  process  the  mind  was  not 
merely  stored  and  furnished,  but  trained  and  dis- 
ciplined, and  prepared,  in  the  best  manner,  for 
future  effort  and  usefulness.  Dr.  Emmons  had 
a  peculiar  faculty  for  attaching  his  students  to 
himself  personally.  The}'  not  only  revered  and 
honored  him,  but  loved  him.  He  had  also  the 
power  of  imbuing  them  with  his  own  sentiments, 
and  of  working  out  of  them  everything  of  an 
opposite  tendency ;  and  all  this  without  any 
artifice  or  force  except  the  force  of  his  invincible 


26 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


logic.  The  pupils  of  Dr.  Emmons  were  so  much 
attracted  to  him  that  in  many  cases  they  tried  to 
imitate  him,  and,  not  unfrequently,  to  their  own 
hurt.  I  know  that  I  fell  into  this  habit  of 
imitating  my  instructor,  not  only  as  to  style  and 
manner  and  structure  of  sermons,  but  in  the 
manner  of  delivery,  and  it  was  a  long  time  before 
I  could  be  rid  of  it ;  perhaps  to  this  day  I  am 
infected  with  it. 

Dr.  Emmons  died  September  23,  1840,  in  the 
ninety-sixth  year  of  his  age,  and  in  the  sixty-eighth 
year  of  his  ministry  in  Franklin.  He  retired  from 
the  labors  of  the  pulpit  in  1827,  declaring  his  "  de- 
termination to  retire  while  he  had  sense  enough 
to  do  it."  He  continued  to  instruct  in  theology 
till  too  feeble  and  infirm  from  age.  The  whole 
number  of  young  ministers  under  his  instruction 
was  eighty-six.  But  upon  many  more  minds  he 
has  left  his  theological  likeness,  and  will  claim 
such  as  his  spiritual  children  when  we  meet  in  our 
Father's  home  above. 

While  under  the  instruction  of  Dr.  Emmons, 
I  resided  and  studied  at  my  father's  house,  and 
rode  over  to  see  the  Doctor  and  read  my  essays 
to  him  about  once  a  week,  taking  for  it  a  whole 
day.  This  arrangement,  though  attended  with 
some  inconveniences,  was,  on  the  whole,  a  benefit 
to  me.  It  furnished  me  with  a  degree  of  relaxa- 
tion and  exercise,  which  I  greatly  needed,  and 
which  I  should  not  otherwise  have  taken ;  for, 
although  my  health  admonished  me  that  I  was 
driving  too  fast,  I  was  not  at  all  inclined  to  relax 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


27 


my  diligence.  I  went  through  Dr.  Emmons's 
course  of  theological  instruction  in  less  than  a 
year,  besides  keeping  a  school  ten  weeks  in  the 
winter,  and  was  prepared  for  license  in  June,  181-4. 
At  the  recommendation  of  my  instructor,  I  was 
examined  for  the  ministry  by  the  Mendon  Asso- 
ciation, at  the  house  of  Rev.  Mr.  Holman,  of 
Douglas,  and  was  commended  by  them,  in  the 
usual  form,  as  a  candidate  for  the  Gospel  ministry, 
June  11,  1811. 


28 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


CHAPTER  III. 


PREACHING    AS     A    CANDIDATE.  —  SETTLEMENT 
AND  MARRIAGE. 

^PHK  next  Sabbath  after  my  license  I  preached 


my  first  sermon,  in  Franklin,  in  the  pulpit 
of  Dr.  Emmons.  Happily,  the  doctor  was  absent 
on  a  journey.  As  I  had  scarcely  ever  in  my  life 
seen  the  inside  of  a  pulpit,  and  never  taken  charge 
of  a  religious  meeting  of  any  kind,  my  situation 
at  first  was  awkward  enough.  I  found  myself  face 
,to  face  with  Dr.  Emmons's  great  congregation, 
every  one  of  whom  was  a  critic  in  pulpit  per- 
formances, as  well  as  in  theology,  and  the  most 
of  whom  had  come,  no  doubt,  for  the  purpose  of 
criticising  the  new  preacher.  I  got  through  the 
day  as  well  as  I  expected,  and  heard  no  complaint 
of  my  performance  afterward. 

I  was  next  employed  to  preach  four  Sabbaths  in 
West  Medway,  in  the  pulpit  since  that  time  so  ably 
•  occupied  for  almost  half  a  century  by  Dr.  Jacob 
Ide.  This  engagement  finished,  I  was  requested 
to  preach  in  my  own  church  in  North  Wrentham, 
the  venerable  pastor  of  which,  Rev.  John  Cleve- 
land, was  now  prostrated  with  his  last  sickness. 
I  preached  here  one  Sabbath,  and  then  my  flagging 
strength  gave  out.  My  health  had  been  gradually 
failing  for  some  time ;  my  digestion  was  dis- 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


2!> 


ordered,  my  nervous  system  enfeebled,  and  I 
could  do  no  more.  I  was  prostrated  by  a  slow 
typhus  fever,  which  confined  me  to  the  house, 
and  most  of  the  time  to  the  bed,  for  two  months. 
I  was  sick  at  my  father's  house,  but  my  chief 
nurse  was  the  young  lady  who  was  soon  to  become 
my  wife  —  Miss  Wealthy  Hawes,  daughter  of  Mr. 
William  Hawes,  of  North  Wrentham.  We  had 
been  acquainted  almost  from  childhood,  had  be- 
come attached  to  each  other,  and,  without  any 
formal  betrothal  or  engagement,  had  felt,  I  sup- 
pose, for  years  that  neither  of  us  could  marry  any 
one  else.  My  mother  had  the  care  and  charge  of 
her  large  family ;  my  elder  sister  was  married ; 
and  Miss  Hawes  was  sent  for  to  come  and  help  in 
the  care  of  me.  She  came,  and  was  a  ministering 
angel  to  me  in  all  my  illness.  But  for  her  watch- 
ful care  and  kindness  I  might  not  have  lived. 
When  I  had  recovered  sufficiently  to  take  the 
journey  which  was  recommended  as  necessary  for 
my  restoration,  it  was  thought  indispensable  that 
she  should  accompany  me.  I  could  not  go  alone ; 
no  one  could  take  care  of  me  as  she  could ;  and,  if 
she  went,  she  must  go  as  my  wife.  We  were 
accordingly  married,  and  commenced  our  journey 
together,  to  visit  her  uncle,  the  late  Hon.  David 
Daggett,  of  New  Haven,  Conn.  We  made  the 
journey  by  easy  stages,  with  our  own  horse  and 
carriage.  It  and  the  visit  were  successfully 
accomplished,  and  resulted  in  my  entire  recovery 
to  health  and  strength.  This  fit  of  severe  and 
long-continued  sickness  proved  of  great  advantage 


30 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


to  me  in  the  end.  The  fever  seemed  to  burn  out 
and  renovate  my  previously  shattered  constitution. 
Previous  to  it  I  had  frequent  sick  headaches,  but 
since  I  have  hardly  known  what  headache  is. 
Previously,  I  was  a  nervous  and  fidgetty  young 
man,  often  troubled  and  unable  to  sleep ;  but  from 
the  time  of  my  recovery  these  annoying  ailments 
have  entirely  passed  away.  I  have  often  said  that 
fever  was  worth  to  me  all  it  cost,  and  I  have  known 
many  instances  in  which  a  fever  in  early  life  was 
followed  by  like  results.  In  the  autumn  of  1814 
I  had  sufficiently  recovered  to  think  of  preaching 
again,  and  an  invitation  awaited  me  to  visit  Ward 
(now  Auburn),  a  small  town  in  Worcester  County, 
lying  between  Worcester  and  Oxford.  I  found 
here  a  small  but  attached  people.  They  loved  me 
and  I  loved  them;  and,  after  preaching  for  them 
several  weeks,  they  gave  me  an  unanimous  call  to 
become  their  pastor.  I  took  the  matter  into 
serious  consideration.  I  had  no  doubt  but  by 
longer  waiting  I  might  secure  a  larger  and  more 
inviting  field  of  labor.  But  here  I  found  an  open 
door;  here  was  work  to  be  done,  and  perhaps  as 
much  work  as  I,  in  my  enfeebled  condition,  should 
be  able  to  accomplish.  The  salary  proposed  was 
not  large,  but  it  was  liberal,  considering  the  ability 
of  the  people,  and  I  concluded  to  cast  in  my  lot 
with  them.  I  accepted  the  call,  and  though  my 
ordination  did  not  take  place  till  the  March  fol- 
lowing (1815),  I  removed  with  my  wife  to  Ward, 
and  we  entered  together  on  what  we  thought 
would  be  the  work  of  our  lives. 


KEY.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


31 


Thus  my  father  went  out  from  the  home  of  his  parents 
with  the  paternal  blessing  resting  upon  him.  But  his  early 
home  was  very  clear  to  him.  Every  year  he  went  up  to 
refresh  himself  in  the  scenes  of  his  youth,  bringing  his 
offering  to  the  home  altar.  For  his  coming  the  father  and 
mother,  brothers  and  sisters,  watched,  and  felt  a  reflected 
glory  in  his  honors.  The  favorite  viands,  the  fairest  fruit, 
the  seat  of  honor,  the  quiet  guest-chamber,  were  prepared 
by  the  loving  mother  when  "  Enoch  was  coming.*'  After 
the  death  of  his  father,  in  1845.  and  his  mother,  in  184!), 
father  went  up  less  frequently.  His  last  visit  was  in  1870. 
He  felt  it  would  be  his  last.  The  valley  of  the  homestead 
was  a  good  deal  changed.  Two  brothers  and  a  sister  were 
dead,  and  their  families  grown  up  and  scattered.  One 
brother,  my  uncle  Lucas  Pond,  was  feeble  in  body  and  in 
mind,  but  the  two  brothers  rode  together  hour  after  hour, 
revisiting  the  haunts  of  their  youth.  Eveiy  familiar  spot 
had  its  associations;  and  of  the  places  and  people  so  many 
stories  were  told,  so  many  jokes  revived,  so  many  "  char- 
acters "  brought  back  to  act  again  upon  the  stage  of  life, 
that  one,  who  sat  listening  in  the  back-seat  of  the  carriage, 
felt  she  was  reading  a  new  chapter  in  the  "  Stories  of  Old- 
Town  Folks." 

Franklin,  the  scene  of  father's  theological  struggles 
under  Dr.  Emmons,  was  visited.  The  road  he  so  often 
traveled  then,  had  hardly  lost  a  stone.  North  Wrentham, 
to  whose  elevated  meeting-house  the  brothers  had  climbed 
every  Sunday  of  their  youth;  Med  way,  where  Dr.  Ide  and 
his  .wife  still  lived;  "Wrentham  village,  where  "  Day's 
Academy "  yet  remained,  and  the  family  burying-place, 
where  six  generations  of  our  family  are  represented,  were 
all  revisited  at  this  time. 

"  Pondville  is  a  sweet  spot,''  father  said  to  me,  as  the  visit 
drew  to  a  close.  "  I  have  gone  over  every  step  of  the  farm 
hundreds  of  times;  I  know  all  the  stones  in  the  old  walls, 
for  I  helped  to  lay  them.  But  nothing  seems  more  natural 
than  the  old  Pearmain  trees.    There  were  nine  set  out  by 


3:> 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


my  grandfather,  when  lie  was  a  young  man,  at  least  one 
hundred  and  forty-three  years  ago;  and  they  still  bring 
forth  fruit  in  old  age.  I  love  the  spot,  but  I  shall  never 
conic  again." 

For  my  father's  grandchildren,  who  know  very  little  of 
their  pious  ancestry,  I  beg  leave  to  copy  from  a  "  Manuscript 
of  Reminiscences,"  preserved  by  an  aunt  who  spent  with 
them  the  last  fifty  years  of  their  lives :  — 

Deacon  Elijali  Pond  and  his  wife  were  converted  in  the  early 
part  of  their  married  life,  and,  like  Zacharias  and  Elizabeth 
"  they  walked  in  all  the  commandments  and  ordinances  of  the 
Lord  blameless."  The  father  and  mother  of  Deacon  Pond, 
and  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Pond  (who  lived  to  be  nearly  a 
hundred  years  old),  were  in  their  declining  years  inmates  of 
their  family  and  were  ever  treated  with  respect,  tenderness, 
and  affection.  And  well  was  the  faithfulness  cf  these 
children  to  their  parents  repaid.  Deacon  Pond  lived  on  the 
homestead,  in  the  quiet  pursuit  of  agriculture.  He  was 
puritan  by  descent,  and  puritan  in  practice.  He  was  a 
strictly  honest  man.  He  was  not  poor  and  he  had  no 
ambition  to  be  rich. 

In  dealing  with  others,  he  seemed  to  consult  their  interest 
as  much  as  his  own.  He  was  faithful  in  all  the  relations  of 
life.  He  trained  up  his  large  family,  five  sons  and  two 
daughters,  for  positions  of  usefulness  and  honor.  They  all, 
with  their  children  and  children's  children  did  him  honor, 
and  '-his  days  were  long  in  the  land."  As  a  son,  a  father, 
a  neighbor,  he  was  kind  and  helpful.  The  poor,  sick,  and 
friendless  ever  found  in  him  a  friend,  and  often  they  were 
taken  into  his  household  and  cherished  as  those  of  his  own 
family.  In  his  religious  character  he  was  even  and  uniform 
in  the  discharge  of  his  Christian  duties.  Naturally  a  timid 
man,  his  voice  was  never  heard  in  the  prayer-meeting  or 
public  assembly,  but  for  more  than  fifty  years  the  Bible  was 
read  and  prayer  offered  morning  and  evening  in  the  family. 
The  Sabbath  was  observed  with  great  care  and  strictness  by 
his  whole  household.    He  read  the  Bible  several  Limes  a 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  I).  D. 


33 


day,  sitting  down  to  read  it,  as  if  hungry  for  the  word; 
going  through  the  Bible  in  course,  once  in  three  months. 
His  ki  closet  "  was  in  the  attic  of  his  house,  and  there,  in  the 
selfsame  spot,  he  knelt  for  more  than  half  a  century,  at  the 
dawn  of  each  morning.  On  the  morning  of  his  death  he 
climbed  those  two  flights  of  stairs  and  descended  in  perfect 
safety,  nor  can  we  doubt  that  the  "  angels  had  charge 
concerning  him.  and  in  their  hands  they  did  be;ir  him  op." 
In  February,  1S45,  Mrs.  Pond  was  visited  with  a  severe  sick- 
ness which  we  all  supposed  would  be  her  last.  Deacon  Pond 
murmured  not,  but  the  sorrow  of  his  heart  was  written  on 
his  countenance.  On  Saturday  morning  he  rose  as  usual, 
went  through  all  the  round  of  accustomed  duty;  toward 
noon  lie  complained  of  severe  pain,  and,  as  the  usual 
remedies  failed,  we  were  preparing  to  send  for  a  physician, 
when,  as  he  was  walking  the  room  where  Mrs.  Pond  was 
sick,  he  fell  dead  in  a  moment.  Our  dear  mother  asked, 
"  Has  pa  fainted?  "  We  told  her,  "  Father  is  dead  !  "  She 
lifted  up  her  hands  and  exclaimed,  ;'  It  is  the  doing  of 
Infinite  Wisdom."  Not  another  word  was  spoken,  and  she 
was  the  onl)-  calm  person  in  the  room. 

We  kept  our  father's  body  nearly  a  week,  thinking  every 
hour  our  mother  must  join  him  in  death.  At  the  last  of  the 
week  the  doctor  saw  a  change  in  her  for  the  better,  and 
gave  us  hope  of  recovery  for  her.  After  father  was 
dressed  for  the  grave,  and  laid  in  the  coffin,  she  desired  to 
have  him  brought  to  her  bedside.  Her  sons  suppoi  ted  her 
in  their  arms  while  she  gazed  on  the  husband  of  her  long 
life,  and  in  a  whisper  repeated  the  lines :  — 

"  To  mourn  and  to  sutler  is  mine, 
While  bound*  in  a  prison  I  breathe, 
And  still  for  deliverance  I  pine, 
And  press  to  the  issues  of  death. 

"  What  now  with  my  tears  I  bedew, 
O,  shall  I  not  shortly  become? 
My  spirit  created  anew, 
Jly  flesh  be  consigned  to  the  tomb." 


34 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


In  a  few  days  she  began  to  amend;  she  gained  rapidly, 
and  remained  four  years  longer  to  cheer  us. 

She  was  a  woman  of  excellent  understanding,  prudent, 
industrious,  benevolent.  Her  disposition  was  pleasant  and 
cheerful.  She  had  been  in  her  youth  a  very  fine  singer,  and. 
though  she  had  become  wholly  deaf,  sometimes  sang  softly 
to  herself  the  songs  of  earlier  days.  In  the  spring  of  1S49. 
she  was  again  visited  with  fever,  which  reduced  her  strength 
rapidly.  She  had  no  pain,  but  great  weariness.  One  day 
as  I  was  sitting  by  her  chair,  she  said,  "  Oh,  I  am  so  tired ; 
tired  all  the  time."  I  said,  >;  Yes,  mother,  but  you  know 
'  there  remaineth  a  rest  for  the  people  of  God."  *'  M  Yes,  yes, 
I  know  it;  "  and  then  she  began  to  talk  about  heaven.  '"I 
can  see  them  all  there.  I  can  see  Pa,  and  Deacon  Hawes, 
and  Colonel  Hawes,  all  singing  and  bowing  before  the 
throne ;  "  and  as  though  she  caught  the  melody,  she  began 
to  sing  an  old  anthem  composed  b}-  Billings.  It  comprises 
nine  long  verses  from  the  fifth  chapter  of  Revelation.  At 
one  time  her  face  beamed  with  pure  rapture,  and  I  verily 
thought  she  would  sing  herself  away  to  everlasting  bliss. 
Never  did  I  hear  such  singing  before.  I  felt  I  was  listening 
to  the  song  of  the  redeemed  in  heaven. 

In  the  late  evening,  a  week  from  this  time,  she  fell  into  a 
sweet  sleep,  her  cheek  resting  on  her  hand  from  which  in 
about  twelve  hours  she  awoke  in  heaven.  "  Mark  ye  the 
perfect  man,  and  behold  the  upright,  for  the  end  of  that 
man  is  peace.'" 

In  the  family  cemetery  two  white  stones  mark  the  graves 
of  this  sainted  pair.    On  one  is  engraved  :  — 

DEACON  ELIJAH  POND, 
"  A  Good  Man  and  a  Just.v 
On  the  other,  — 

MARY  POND, 
"A  Mother  in  Israel." 


EEV.  ENOCH    TON  I),  D.  D. 


35 


CHAPTER  IV. 


MY  MINISTRY  IN  WARD. 


"A  gonial  hearth,  a  hospitable  board, 
And  a  refined  rusticity,  belong 
To  the  neat  mansion,  where  his  flock  among 
Their  learned  pastor  dwells,  their  watchful  lord ; 
Though  meek  and  patient  as  a  sheathed  sword." 


|N  the  first  of  March,  1815,  I  was  solemnly  set 


apart,  by  the  imposition  of  hands,  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry,  and  constituted  pastor  of 
the  Congregational  church  and  society  in  Ward. 
The  council  was  large  and  respectable.  The  more 
prominent  members  were  Rev.  Dr.  Austen,  of 
Worcester,  Dr.  Crane,  of  Northbridge,  Mr.  Mills, 
of  Sutton,  Mr.  Nelson,  of  Leicester,  Mr.  Goff, 
of  Millbury,  and  Mr.  Fiske,  of  Wrentham,  who 
preached  the  sermon.  They  are  all  dead  now. 
Mr.  Fiske,  of  Wrentham  (Centre),  died  in  1851, 
at  an  advanced  age,  while  connected  with  the  only 
church  of  which  he  was  ever  pastor.  He  was  a 
wise,  conservative,  prudent  man  ;  so  prudent  that 
Miss  Hannah  Adams  used  to  say:  "If  another 
question  should  be  added  to  the  Child's  Catechism 
in  the  old  New  England  Primer,  '  Who  was  the 
most  prudent  man  ? '  the  answer  would  be,  '  Rev. 
Mr.  Fiske.'"  Dr.  Nelson  lived  till  1870,  and  died 
full  of  years.  Rev.  Mr.  Goff  died  in  1846,  aged 
seventy-six. 


—  Wordsworth. 


36 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


When  I  entered  on  my  ministerial  work  in 
Ward,  religion  was  in  a  low,  declining  state. 
My  predecessor,  Rev.  Isaac  Bailey,  was  a  worthy 
man,  but  very  quiet,  who  suffered  things  to 
proceed  in  their  natural  course  without  his 
interference.  None  had  been  admitted  to  t he 
church  for  years,  and  when  I  inquired  for  the 
church  covenant  and  records,  they  could  not  be 
found.  Weekly  meetings  had  been  neglected ; 
and  when  I  proposed  to  establish  a  meeting  for 
conference  and  prayer,  many  opposed  it.  They 
thought  we  had  more  meetings  already  than  were 
fully  attended,  and  that  to  have  more  would  be 
burdensome.  However,  their  objections  were 
overcome,  and  such  a  meeting  established.  My 
first  year  of  labor  in  Ward  was  without  visible 
results.  I  preached  regularly  on  the  Sabbath ; 
the  people  heard,  but  none  were  awakened.  My 
sermons  were  carefully  prepared  and  written  out 
in  full  for  some  years.  Many  of  my  sermons  were 
double  ;  that  is,  there  were  two  from  the  same 
text :  in  the  morning  sermon  setting  forth  the 
doctrinal  truth  in  its  order,  in  the  afternoon 
making  the  practical  application.  This  was  Dr. 
Emmons's  custom,  and  it  lias  many  advantages. 
Pressing  home  the  one  form  of  truth  for  a  whole 
day  can  hardly  fail  to  make  an  impression  on  the 
heart. 

In  the  second  year  of  my  ministry  a  revival 
commenced,  which  continued  many  months,  and 
seemed  to  renovate  the  church.  The  manner  in 
which  this  revival  commenced  was  unusual,  and  I 


KEY.  ENOCH  POND,  T).  D. 


37 


may  call  it  the  result  of  sanctified  reproof.  At 
the  time  of  my  settlement  I  found  the  young 
people  of  my  flock,  though  kind,  attentive,  and 
intelligent,  yet  much  addieted  to  what  I  regarded 
as  vain  and  sinful  amusements.  Balls  and  dancing- 
parties  were  of  frequent  recurrence  ;  they  were 
held  at  the  houses  of  professors  of  religion,  and 
the  children  of  church  members,  and  church  mem- 
bers themselves,  participated  in  them.  I  pretty 
earl)-  signified  my  disapprobation  of  such  tilings,  but 
without  effect.  It  was  thought  well  enough  for 
ministers  to  disapprove  of  public  balls  and  dances, 
and  even  to  express  their  disapproval  of  them, 
provided  they  did  it  in  a  mild,  respectful  manner, 
and  were  careful  not  to  hurt  anybody.  I  touched 
lightly  on  the  subject  in  my  sermons  more  than 
once,  but  I  soon  found  that  the  evil  was  not  to  be 
cured  in  this  way.  At  length,  after  a  ball  in  my 
own  immediate  neighborhood,  and  in  the  house  of 
one  of  the  principal  members  of  1113'  church,  at 
which  most  of  the  young  people  of  the  town  were 
present,  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  take  up  the 
subject  in  good  earnest.  The  time  had  come  for 
a  decisive  issue.  Either  vice  and  vanity  must  be 
checked,  or  the  truth  must  fall.  After  seeking 
direction  from  God,  I  prepared  a  whole  sermon 
for  the  occasion.  I  preached,  I  can  hardly  tell 
how,  though  not  in  anger,  I  am  sure.  Yet  there 
was  a  degree  of  point  and  pungency,  not  to  say 
personality,  about  the  sermon,  which,  at  the  age 
of  fifty,  I  should  hardly  think  it  prudent  to  imitate. 
The  Sabbath  passed  quietly  away,  and  so  did  two 


38 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


or  three  days  of  the  week  ;  still  I  could  see  that 
very  strong  feelings  had  been  excited,  and  how 
they  were  to  be  allayed,  if  allayed  at  all,  was 
quite  a  problem.  One  evening,  near  the  close  of 
the  Aveek,  I  perceived  a  collection  of  young  men 
in  front  of  the  tavern  at  which  the  ball  was  held, 
before  which  they  knew  I  would  have  to  pass 
before  evening.  The  time  of  my  passing  was  the 
time  they  had  agreed  upon.  They  ran  out  from 
the  doors,  shouted  after  me  from  the  windows, 
calling  me  opprobrious  names.  I  took  no  notice 
of  their  insolence,  but  walked  quietly  on  my  way. 
Indeed  I  had  no  feeling  toward  one  of  them  but 
that  of  pity,  and  was  led  to  pray  for  them  with 
greater  earnestness.  It  soon  appeared  that  the 
malignant  spirit,  under  Avhose  promptings  and 
influence  they  had  acted,  had  in  this  instance  quite 
overshot  his  mark.  He  had  induced  these  young 
men  to  take  a  burden  on  their  consciences,  which 
they  could  not  bear.  They  went  home  from  this 
riot  heavy-hearted  and  ashamed.  Their  conduct 
was  disapproved  by  all  the  better  part  of  the 
community.  In  a  few  days  they  began  to  come 
to  me,  one  after  another,  without  any  concert 
among  themselves,  to  confess  the  fault  and  ask 
forgiveness.  It  soon  appeared  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  operating  upon  their  hearts. 

This  was  the  commencement  of  that  revival 
which  spread  throughout  the  town,  and  continued 
for  two  or  three  years.  Probably  as  many  as  a 
hundred  were  converted,  and  nearly  that  number 
were  added  to  the  church.    Many  of  these  were 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  1). 


39 


heads  of  families.  They  were  of  all  ages,  from  the 
old  man  of  eighty  to  the  child  of  twelve  years. 
Most  of  the  young  men  before  referred  to  became 
Christians,  and  earnest  Christians.  Two  or  three 
"ran  well  for  a  time,"  and  then  returned  to  their 
old  courses  and  became  more  abandoned  than  ever. 
This  revival  was  a  great  blessing  to  me  personally. 
It  quickened  and  revived  me.  It  taught  me  how 
to  preach  and  pray  and  visit  among  the  people, 
and  converse  with  them  upon  their  souls'  concerns. 
I  learned  in  this  revival  to  preach  extempore, 
which  I  had  never  dared  attempt  before.  I  found 
no  lack  of  subjects  for  preaching,  though  I  held 
meetings  several  times  in  the  week.  The  Scrip- 
tures were  remarkably  opened  to  me,  and  more 
appropriate  subjects  were  suggested  than  I  had 
time  or  occasion  to  discuss.  This  revival  not  only 
doubled  the  number  of  members  of  the  church,  but 
it  brought  a  new  spiritual  element  into  it,  by 
which  its  power  and  influence  were  greatly  in- 
creased. 

About  five  years  after  this  first  revival,  the  Lord 
was  pleased  again  to  visit  us  with  a  great  out- 
pouring of  his  Spirit.  The  type  of  this  second 
revival  was  very  different  from  the  first,  showing 
that  there  are  "diversities  of  operation,  but  the 
same  spirit."  It  commenced  suddenly  and  unex- 
pectedly. It  passed  over  the  town,  and  through 
it,  like  a  "rushing,  mighty  wind."  All  the  con- 
versions, and  they  were  numerous,  occurred  within 
six  or  eight  weeks.  Our  public  schools  were  at 
that  time  in  session,  as  it  was  the  winter  season. 


40 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


Prayer-meetings  were  held  in  the  district  school- 
houses,  and  the  scholars  generally  were  under 
religious  impressions.  One  of  these  schools  was 
taught  hy  an  intelligent  young  man,  a  professed 
unbeliever  of  Christian  truth.  There  had  been 
a  religious  meeting  in  the  schoolhouse  on  Thursday 
evening,  attended  with  the  ordinary  degree  of 
interest.  On  Friday  I  received  a  message  from 
my  friend  the  teacher,  requesting  me  to  come  and 
visit  his  school.  I  went  at  once  to  the  place, 
when  a  scene  presented  itself  such  as  I  had  never 
before  witnessed  and  can  never  forget.  The 
ordinaiy  business  of  the  school  was  suspended, 
and  the  pupils  were  sitting  reading  their  Bibles 
or  religious  books,  many  of  them  in  tears,  some 
weeping  aloud.  I  sat  down  in  the  midst  of  them 
and  commenced  conversation  much  after  the 
manner  of  a  religious  inquiry-meeting. 

Addressing  myself  to  a  little  girl  who  sat  near 
me,  and  who  seemed  much  affected,  I  said:  "Mary, 
what  is  the  matter  with  you?  Why  do  you 
weep?1'  "O,"  said  she,  "I  am  a  great  sinner! 
God  has  been  very  good  to  me,  and  I  have  done 
nothing  but  forget  him  and  sin  against  him  all 
my  life."  And  this  was  the  feeling  that  seemed 
to  pervade  the  school.  There  was  no  terror  or 
affright,  but  the  prominent  feeling  was  that  of  grief 
and  shame  for  past  ingratitude.  "God  has  been 
very  good  to  me,  and  I  have  forgotten  and  for- 
saken him;  I  am  a  great  sinner;  what  shall  I  do 
to  be  saved?" 

After  conversing  with  the  scholars,  I  turned 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


41 


to  the  teacher  and  asked  him  what  he  thought 
of  these  things  ?  I  Ie  replied :  "  I  am  not  in  a  situa- 
tion to  speak  freely  with  you  now;  but  this  I  will 
say:  I  as  much  believe  God  is  here  by  the  power 
of  his  Spirit,  as  if  I  saw  him  with  my  bodily 
eyes.*'  Quite  a  number  of  these  scholars  were 
in  a  few  days  converted,  and  have  since  proved 
by  Christian  lives,  or  by  triumphant  deaths,  that 
their  change  of  heart  was  a  reality.  More  than 
fifty  were  added  to  the  church  as  fruits  of  this 
revival.  And  some  of  them  still  live  to  testify 
to  the  genuineness  of  this  work  of  grace. 

There  was  a  family  living  near  us,  kind,  social 
friends,  who  attended  a  Unitarian  church  in 
a  neighboring  town,  and  called  themselves  Uni- 
tarians. Becoming  somewhat  dissatisfied  with 
the  religious  teachings  of  their  Unitarian  pastor, 
the  mother  and  daughters  attended  our  evening 
meetings,  and  listened  with  great  interest  to  the 
warnings  and  invitations  of  the  Gospel,  and  before 
long  gave  evidence  of  a  change  of  heart.  Now 
the  boasted  liberality  of  the  father  was  put  to 
a  severe  test.  The  wife,  Mrs.  H.,  was  as  good 
a  wife  as  she  had  ever  been  —  kind,  dutiful,  and 
respectful.  The  daughters  also  were  affectionate 
and  obedient,  willing  to  do  anything  for  their 
honored  father  except  sin  against  God.  They 
thought,  and  their  mother  thought,  that,  as  they 
must  answer  for  themselves  before  the  bar  of  God, 
they  were  entitled  to  act  for  themselves  in  the 
all-important  concerns  of  religion.  They  wished 
to  leave  the  Unitarian  Society,  and  to  worship 


42 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


with  us.  But  the  father  peremptorily  said  no,  and 
forbade  their  attending  any  more  of  our  meetings. 
He  cursed  religion,  which  he  thought  had  brought 
all  this  disturbance  into  his  family.  His  wife  and 
daughters  did  not  yield  their  convictions  to  his 
violence.  After  an  absence  of  a  few  da}-s,  he  came 
home  one  evening  to  find  them  away  at  the 
prayer-meeting.  He  was  so  much  enraged  that  bis 
violence  knew  no  bounds.  His  heart,  as  lie  after- 
wards expressed  it,  seemed  literally  to  boil  over 
with  hate  and  fuiy.  He  cursed  the  Orthodox, 
their  church,  their  religion,  and  their  God.  He 
cursed  his  own  wife  and  daughters.  At  length 
he  became  affrighted  at  himself.  He  had  not 
thought  he  was  capable  of  such  dreadful  wicked- 
ness. The  Spirit  of  God  enlightened  him  to  see 
the  terrible  depravity  of  his  heart.  He  was  led, 
without  seeking  it,  into  a  train  of  reflections,  such 
as  he  never  indulged  in  before;  and  before  his 
family  returned  he  was,  though  he  hardly  knew 
it,  a  deeply  convicted  sinner.  Instead  of  meeting 
them  with  reproaches,  he  met  them  with  sighs  and 
tears.  He  humbly  confessed  the  wrong  he  had 
done  them,  and  the  greater  injuries  he  had  med- 
itated, asked  their  forgiveness,  and  sought  an 
interest  in  their  prayers.  I  was  called  to  visit  him 
almost  immediately,  and  had  the  happiness  of 
seeing  him  in  a  few  days  rejoicing  in  the  hope 
of  the  Gospel.  Thus  his  home,  which  had  been 
for  a  time  divided,  was  again  united,  and  in  purer 
and  holier  ties  than  before. 

My  residence  in  Ward,  of  thirteen  years,  was 


KEY.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  I). 


43 


a  season  of  mingled  enjoyment  and  affliction. 
I  had  myself  almost  uninterrupted  health.  I 
enjoyed  my  work  and  was  blessed  in  it.  I  had 
a  kind,  affectionate  people,  who  granted  us  every 
indulgence  we  could  desire  of  them.  I  was  some- 
times straitened  for  the  means  of  living,  but  my 
circumstances  improved,  and  I  acquired  property 
faster  in  Ward  than  at  any  other  equal  period  of 
my  life.  To  help  out  my  means  of  living  in  Ward, 
and  to  help  forward  the  education  of  my  children, 
I  engaged  in  teaching,  and  the  business  became 
greater  than  I  desired.  I  began  by  receiving 
a  few  scholars  into  my  own  family,  that  I  might 
fit  them  for  college.  I  received  also  "rusticated  " 
collegians,  and  the  work  so  grew  upon  me,  that  I 
had  at  times  some  thirty  or  forty  pupils.  I  fitted 
up  a  schoolroom  in  my  house,  and  used  to  sit 
down  there  in  the  midst  of  them  and  hear  their 
recitations,  and  write  my  sermons  or  attend  to 
other  matters  connected  with  authorship.  I 
became  so  accustomed  to  this  mode  of  life,  that  I 
could  write  as  well  in  my  schoolroom  as  elsewhere. 
Surrounded  by  my  scholars,  I  could  break  off 
from  my  writing  to  answer  a  question,  or  hear 
a  recitation,  or  direct  a  pupil's  thoughts,  and  begin 
again  without  any  embarrassment.  This  habit  I 
have  found  of  some  advantage  to  me  in  subsequent 
life.  The  constant  teaching  of  Latin  and  Greek 
classics  also  made  me  more  thoroughly  familiar 
with  them  than  otherwise  I  could  have  been.  To 
accommodate  my  scholars,  I  prepared  a  new 
arrangement  of  Murray's  English  Grammar,  which 


44 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


went  through,  several  editions,  and  was  for  a  time 
much  used  in  schools.  While  living  in  Ward, 
heside  my  duty  as  pastor  and  as  teacher,  I  engaged 
pretty  largely  in  writing  for  the  press.  In  the 
year  1815,  I  published  a  sermon  on  the  "  Divinity 
of  ( !hrist,"  of  which  a  second  edition  was  published 
in  1828,  in  Boston.  In  the  time  of  our  revivals, 
1816-18,  when  weekly  religious  meetings  were 
considerably  multiplied,  not  only  in  Ward,  but  in 
Worcester  and  adjoining  towns,  Rev.  Dr.  Ban- 
croft, of  Worcester,  attacked  them  in  a  sermon, 
which  was  published.  He  based  his  opposition  to 
them  on  a  clause  in  the  fourth  commandment, 
"  Six  days  thou  shalt  labor  and  do  all  thy  work," 
etc. ;  in  this  sermon  the  doctor  insisted  that  we 
are  as  much  bound  to  labor  six  days,  as  we  are  to 
keep  the  seventh  day ;  and  that  it  is  as  gross  a 
violation  of  the  fourth  commandment  to  hold 
religious  meetings  on  a  weekda}',  as  to  perform 
secular  labor  on  the  Sabbath.  I  replied  to  the 
sermon  in  "  An  apology  for  religious  conference 
meetings,"  in  1817.  The  doctor  published  a  reply 
to  this,  and  I  published  a  "  Rejoinder."  The 
doctor's  opposition  to  weekly  prayer  and  confer- 
ence meetings  gained  him  no  credit  among  his 
Unitarian  fiiends.  Mr.  Hollis,  then  of  Boston,  is 
reported  to  have  said,  "  Brother  Bancroft  is  a  fool. 
Are  Ave  obliged  to  work  every  hour  of  the  '  six 
days?'  These  religious  people  have  just  as  good 
a  right  to  attend  a  conference  meeting  in  the  week, 
as  I  have  to  go  to  a  ball."  During  this  year  I 
also  examined  and  replied  to  Dr.  Judson's  "  Letters 


T.EV.  EXOCH  POXD,  D.  D. 


4:. 


on  Baptism."  Of  this  reply  two  editions  have 
since  been  published.  Dr.  Samuel  Nott,  a  former 
missionary  to  India,  had  published  some  strictures 
on  my  reply  to  Dr.  Judson  ;  and  to  these  I  replied 
in  a  published  letter  to  Dr.  Nott,  in  1819.  During 
all  the  latter  part  of  my  pastorate  in  Ward,  we 
observed  the  "  monthly  concert  of  prayer  for  the 
conversion  of  the  world.*'  There  was  not  so 
much  religious  intelligence  diffused  then  as  now  ; 
and  as  I  had  few  to  help  me,  I  endeavored  to  give 
interest  to  those  meetings  by  delivering  short 
missionary  lectures.  A  volume  of  these  lectures 
was  published,  in  1824,  under  the  title  "  Monthly 
Conceit  Lectures."  The  volume  was  favorably 
received,  and  has  since  been  published  by  the 
Massachusetts  Sabbatli  School  Society,  in  1845, 
with  the  title  "  The  World's  Salvation."  During 
my  residence  in  Ward,  I  published  several  articles 
in  the  "  Monthly  Christian  Spectator,"  issued  at 
New  Haven,  in  the  "  Utica  Christian  Repository," 
in  the  "  Hopkinsian  Magazine,"  and  more  in  the 
"  Christian  Magazine,"  a  monthly  periodical  pub- 
lished by  the  Mendon  Association  of  Ministers. 
In  the  "  Christian  Magazine "  I  commenced  a 
review  of  the  Unitarian  Tracts,  and  continued 
it  in  a  series  of  six  essays,  in  the  fourth  volume- 
of  the  magazine.  These  essays  were  afterward 
published  in  pamphlet  form,  in  Boston,  and  con- 
tributed not  a  little  toward  my  appointment  as 
editor  of  the  "Spirit  of  the  Pilgrims." 

A  few  years  after  my  settlement  in  Ward, 
a  controversy  arose  in  the  Congregational  church 


46 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


in  Worcester.  In  this  controversy  my  feelings 
were  enlisted  strongly  for  the  party  standing  out 
in  opposition  to  the  pastor,  Rev.  Mr.  Goodrich, 
a  valued  friend  also  of  mine.  After  a  course  of 
years,  and  of  various  persecutions  and  wrongs 
inflicted  on  the  party  opposed  to  the  church 
power,  a  Second  Congregational  Church  was 
formed;  and  in  it  these  offending  members  and 
others  were  included.  The  pastor  of  the  First 
Church  was  dismissed,  and  harmony  at  length 
restored.  This  was  in  1820.  This  Second  Church 
has  proved  its  right  to  be,  by  its  growth,  pros- 
perity, and  usefulness.  This  church  was  for  a 
long  time  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Sweetzer,  lately  deceased.  My  interest  in  this 
controversy  brought  into  my  circle  of  friends  the 
family  of  the  late  Hon.  Daniel  Waldo. 

This  family  became  our  father's  firm  friends ;  and  during 
the  time  of  sickness  and  trial,  he  received  great  comfort 
and  help  from  them.  Many  were  the  luxuries  brought  to 
the  sickbed  of  the  declining  wife  and  mother,  and  sub- 
stantial aid  to  the  afflicted  husband.  They  were  rich, 
benevolent,  generous.  Their  friendship  continued  till  their 
death.  Their  regard  for  my  father  was  the  motive  which 
led  this  family  to  give  to  the  treasury  of  Bangor  Seminary 
those  funds  which  instituted  the  l>  Waldo  Professorship." 

Of  the  seven  children  born  to  us  in  Ward,  four 
lie  buried  there,  and  their  mother  beside  them. 
Our  second  child,  Enoch,  died  in  1819,  nearly 
three  years  old.  He  was  a  dear  little  boy  — 
sprightly,  intelligent,  obedient,  handsome,  greatly 
beloved  by  us  all.    His  disease  was  whooping- 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


47 


cough,  which  terminated  in  quick  consumption. 
He  had  his  reason  to  the  last,  and  seemed,  near 
the  close  of  his  life,  to  be  truly  converted.  He 
gave  all  the  evidence  of  a  change  of  heart  which 
such  a  child  could  give.  He  seemed  for  several 
days  to  be  full  of  love.  He  loved  everybody  he 
could  think  of;  and  spoke  particularly  of  loving 
some  persons  no  one  else  did  love.  I  felt  then, 
and  I  believe  now,  that  his  heart  was  renewed, 
and  that  he  went  directly  from  our  embrace  on 
earth  to  the  bosom  of  his  Saviour  in  heaven. 
Never  was  there  a  more  sincere  mourner  than  I 
was  then.  I  felt  as  if  I  could  not  give  him  up ; 
and  when  he  was  gone  I  thought  earth  could 
never  more  have  any  charms  for  me.  Its  joys 
were  all  faded ;  its  blandishments  spoiled.  But 
the  grace  of  God,  I  trust,  supported  us,  and  time 
—  that  universal  healer  —  assuaged  our  grief. 

My  father's  school  commenced  about  1S20.  I  have  a 
remembrance  of  him  as  a  teacher,  from  the  pen  of  Hon. 
A.  G.  Wakefield,  of  Bangor :  — 

"  I  first  knew  your  father  in  the  spring  of  1S23.  when  a 
youth  I  came  from  the  wilds  of  Xew  York  to  reside  in  the 
town  where  he  was  settled.  It  was  a  small  agricultural 
town.  His  parish  embraced  the  whole  population,  except 
a  small  Baptist  Society.  The  people  of  his  parish  were 
intelligent,  church-going  people,  and  his  meetings  were 
well  attended.  He  was  indefatigably  industrious.  Besides 
attending  faithfully  to  his  pastoral  duties,  lie  kept  a  day- 
school  in  a  large  room  in  the  second  story  of  his  pleasantly 
located  house,  where  he  received  a  select  number  of  pupils. 
They  were  mostly  from  the  neighborhood  and  vicinity, 
boarding  at  home  and  coming  to  him  for  instruc  tion:  yet 


48 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


some  of  them  came  from  places  more  remote,  and  lived 
in  his  family.  He  took  a  lively  interest  in  the  public 
schools  of  the  town  and  did  much  to  elevate  the  standard  of 
education.  The  studies  taught  in  his  school  were  the 
higher  blanches  of  English  education  and  the  languages. 
He  conducted  my  preparatory  studies,  and  I  was  a  member 
of  his  family  a  considerable  part  of  the  time.  His  good- 
nature and  suavity  were  as  marked  then  as  in  later  years. 
It  was  not  unusual  in  those  days  to  '  rusticate '  a  college 
student  for  some  delinquency.  During  my  residence  in 
Ward,  several  students  of  this  class  were  sent  out  to  him 
by  his  Alma  Mater.  By  his  good-nature  he  always  gained 
their  respect,  and  exercised  a  beneficial  influence  over  them. 
His  schoolroom  was  his  study.  There  he  wrote  his  sermons. 
He  had  a  large  armchair  with  a  leaf  or  form  attached  to  it, 
on  which  lie  laid  his  paper  and  placed  his  inkstand.  When 
not  interrupted  to  hear  a  lesson  or  make  some  explanation 
about  it,  his  pen  was  in  his  hand,  and  in  active  operation. 
He  had  no  school  rules,  nor  wasted  an}-  time  to  govern. 
His  presence  inspired  order,  and  diligence  in  study.  He 
composed  with  great  ease.  He  never  seemed  to  stop  to 
think.  His  thoughts  were  spontaneous,  flowing  through  his 
pen  as  fast  as  he  could  put  them  on  paper.  Besides  dis- 
charging the  varied  duties  of  minister,  pastor,  and  tea  her. 
Dr.  Pond  must  have  written  a  good  deal  for  the  press  at 
that  time;  fur  he  had  acquired  the  reputation  of  being  a 
clear,  acute,  and  forcible  writer.  Xot  long  since,  1  heard  a 
gentleman,  who  knew  him  in  later  life,  speak  of  his  innate 
dignity.  He  had  the  same  characteristic  when  young.  It 
was  not  assumed,  nor  the  result  of  education;  it  was  born 
in  him.  It  was  not  an  asserting  or  obtrusive  dignity,  and 
was  never  used  for  show.  No  one  acquainted  with  him 
would  ever  think  him  conscious  of  it. 

'•  Dr.  Pond  had  a  great  deal  of  self-repose,  the  result  of 
the  harmonious  blending  and  balancing  of  all  his  faculties. 
His  equanimity  was  never  disturbed.  His  broad,  grand 
curamun-sense  would  have  made  him  conspicuous  in  any  of 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


49 


the  professions,  or  in  :iny  avocation  he  had  chosen  to  follow. 
His  influence  was  not  confined  to  his  church  and  society, 
nor  to  education.  lie  took  great  interest  in  the  poorer 
class  of  people,  that  class  who  live  'from  hand  to  mouth.' 
and  no  class  of  persons  mourned  his  resignation  and 
removal  from  Ward  more  than  did  these." 

In  May,  1824,  my  wife  took  a  severe  cold,  which 
fastened  on  her  lungs,  and  defied  the  skill  of 
physicians  and  the  power  of  medicine  to  remove. 
While  she  lingered  and  suffered,  two  little  children 
were  taken  from  us  l>y  death,  —  an  infant  hoy 
Charles,  and  a  dear  little  son,  William  Emmons 
Pond.  He  was  like  the  dear  hoy  whom  we  had 
lost  hefore,  and  seemed  given  to  us  in  his  place. 
After  a  sickness  of  two  weeks  he  died,  aged  two 
years.  "The  Lord  gave  and  the  Lord  hath  taken 
away." 

Perhaps  I  felt  this  trial  less  hecause  of  the 
greater  one  just  before  me.  My  wife  lingered 
among  us,  in  a  fatal  consumption,  till  September 
5th,  of  the  same  year,  when  she  fell  asleep. 

She  had  been  a  most  faithful  friend  and  a  de- 
voted mother.  She  had  done  everything  for  me 
and  mine  which  a  wife  and  mother  could  do.  She 
sought,  above  all  things,  the  welfare  of  her  family, 
and  the  heart  of  her  husband  safely  trusted  in  her. 
She  possessed,  in  an  uncommon  degree,  tenderness 
of  conscience.  She  saw  in  herself  no  little  sins. 
Every  neglect  of  duty,  everything  she  saw  in  her- 
self which  was  not  in  accordance  with  her  high 
sense  of  riyht^  was  regarded  as  a  great  evil,  and 
she  grieved  over  it.    Religion  was  ever  to  her 


50 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


a  matter  of  great  and  solemn  concern.  To  be 
a  true  Christian,  an  heir  of  God's  great  promises, 
was  an  all-important  tiling.  She  had  such  appre- 
hension of  the  greatness  of  religion,  and  the 
dcceitfulness  of  the  heart,  and  the  danger  of  un- 
founded hopes,  that  she  sometimes  doubted  the 
genuineness  of  her  own  piety,  and  with  the  utmost 
caution  gave  encouragement  to  the  newly  con- 
verted. She  loved  the  cause  of  missions,  and  in 
spirit  and  feeling  was  for  many  years  a  missionary. 
She  valued  greatly  the  institutions  of  religion. 
She  loved  her  Bible  and  made  it  her  daily  study. 
She  loved  the  place  of  public  and  of  private 
prayer.  Those  who  knew  her  best  knew  that 
not  a  day  passed  during  all  her  Christian  life, 
(unless  prevented  by  unusual  circumstances), 
when  she  did  not  more  than  once  enter  her  closet 
and  lift  her  heart  devoutly  to  him  "  who  seeth  in 
secret."  The  loss  of  such  a  companion  was  a  great 
one  to  me,  to  my  bereaved  children  (three  of 
whom  survived),  and  to  my  people.  Her  influence 
was  always  salutary  and  her  labors  abundant. 
She  had  labored  beyond  her  strength,  and  her 
constitution  had  become  enfeebled ;  otherwise  she 
might  have  tin-own  off  the  burden  of  disease  which 
at  length  overpowered  her.  She  died  universally 
beloved  and  lamented,  and  has  long  been  among 
the  shining  ones  who  stand  before  "the  throne 
of  God  and  the  Lamb." 

My  house  was  now  left  to  me  desolate.  My 
wife's  mother  and  one  of  her  sisters  were  residing 
with  me,  and  were  a  great  comfort  to  me  in  my 


REV.  ENOCH  I'OKD,  D.  D. 


51 


affliction.  They  continued  with  me  several 
months,  and  assisted  in  the  care  and  business 
of  the  family.  I  shall  always  remember  them 
with  gratitude  and  love.  But,  as  months  passed 
on,  I  found  my  children  needed  a  watchful 
mother,  and  I  needed  some  one  to  take  the  place 
in  my  heart  and  life  so  long  occupied  by  the  loved 
one  gone.  I  did  not  forget  that  beloved  one  of 
my  youth,  now  departed ;  I  shall  never  forget 
her;  but  my  feelings  and  my  necessities  led  me 
to  ask  of  God  for  one  to  fill  the  vacant  place 
in  my  home,  and  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  direct 
me.  Miss  Julia  Ann  Maltby  was  then  visiting 
her  uncle,  Rev.  L.  Ives  Hoadley,  in  Worcester. 
I  had  met  her  before,  and  was  pleased  with  her. 
I  now  renewed  the  acquaintance,  and  in  time  I 
offered  her  my  heart  and  hand,  which  were 
accepted.  We  were  married  the  seventeenth  of 
June,  1825,  and  lived  together  most  affection- 
ately and  happily  for  thirteen  years.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Lieutenant  John  Maltby,  of  North- 
ford,  Conn. 

Only  one  of  our  father's  children  now  lives  who 
remembers  the  life  in  Ward.  She  is  his  eldest  child,  Mrs. 
W.  A.  Parker,  of  Belfast,  Maine.  She  sa3's:  "01  my 
childhood  in  Ward  I  can  remember  but  little;  the  large, 
pleasant,  and  always  well-filled  house  ;  the  aunts  wbo  were 
frequently  with  us;  some  of  the  strange  sayings  of  the 
quaint  old  ministers  who  came  on  '  exchanges  * ;  how  Mr. 
Goft'e  threatened  to  throw  the  big  Bible  at  us  from  tbc 
pulpit,  if  we  were  not  good  in  church;  how  the  young  men 
at  school  played  off  jokes  on  us  and  how  we  retaliated. 
My  love  and  reverence  for  my  father  was  as  early  :is  I  can 


52 


A  MEMORIAL  OP 


think.  My  sense  of  safety  with  him,  in  times  of  fear  or 
grief,  my  confidence  in  all  he  said  and  did,  that  it  was  just 
right,  never  failed.  The  second  revival  of  religion,  seven 
years  after  his  going  to  Ward,  I  remember  (though  I  was 
but  six  years  old),  from  the  fact  that  the  prayer-meetings 
wcie  held  in  my  father's  large  kitchen;  and  when  not 
permitted  to  sit  up  I  could  hear  the  voices  of  the  singers 
and  the  praying  ones  in  the  adjoining  bedroom,  where  I 
lay  in  my  trundle-bed.  For  want  of  suitable  hymn-books 
for  such  seasons  of  revival,  my  father  made  some  dozen  or 
more  manuscript  hymn-books,  with  the  tunes  also.  Some 
of  these  hymns  I  recall;  as,  'Stop,  poor  sinner,  stop  and 
think,'  'Ho!  ye  sinners,  poor  and  wretched.'  "When  with 
my  mind  devoutly  pressed.'  Perhaps  twenty  such  hymns 
were  found  in  these  books.  These  hymns  so  impressed  me, 
that  I  now  recall  them,  and  the  tunes  in  which  they  were 
sung.  These  hymns  and  meetings  awakened  an  interest 
that  I  never  lost,  always  feeling  that  I  ought  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian. I,  too,  felt  the  dancing  mania,  already  referred  to.  A 
dancing-master  came  to  town,  and  I  remember  asking  my 
father  if  I  could  not  go  to  the  school  with  my  playmates  who 
went;  but  father  took  nie  on  his  knee  and  talked  with  me 
about  it,  describing  the  vanity  and  foolishness  of  it."  and  so 
cooled  my  fever  of  excitement  that  to  this  day  I  feel  the 
influence  of  his  description  and  a  disgust  at  dancing.  I  can 
remember  only  a  few  things  before  the  death  of  my  mother; 
perhaps  the  death  of  my  little  brother  William  more  distinctly 
than  any  other.  My  mother  sick  in  the  bed ;  my  father  sitting 
by  the  cradle  of  his  dying  boy;  my  aunt,  who  took  care  of 
us,  walking  the  room  nearly  frantic  with  grief;  we  little 
children,  amazed  at  our  first  sight  of  death,  made  up  the  sad 
picture.  We  three,  Cornelia,  Enoch,  and  I,  left  the  village 
school,  and  studied  with  my  father  in  his  school  at  home. 
One  Sabbath  after  the  usual  reading  of  the  Bible  together 
and  father's  praying  with  us,  he  told  us  he  was  going  away 
for  a  few  days  and  should  bring  home  to  us  a  new  mother. 
We  found  this  mother  tender  and  true.    The  children  of 


KEY.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


53 


these  two  mothers  grew  up  and  have  lived  together  as 
affectionately  as  it  is  possible  for  children  to  do.  There 
have  been,  to  this  day,  no  differences  or  jealousies.  When 
we  left  Ward,  we  left  a  pleasant  home  and  kind  friends, 
whom  1  still  remember  with  love  and  gratitude." 


54 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


CHAPTER  V. 


LIFE  AS  AN  EDITOR  IN  BOSTON. 


T  school  at  length  became  a  burden  to  me 


too  heavy  to  be  borne.  I  could  not 
continue  it  without  wearing  myself  up  too  fast ; 
and  I  hardly  knew  how  to  relinquish  it.  This  was 
one  of  the  circumstances  which  made  me  more 
willing  to  change  my  position.  The  reviews  of 
the  Unitarian  Tracts,  which  I  had  published  in 
the  "Christian  Magazine,"  had  fallen  under  the 
notice  of  certain  ministers  in  Boston,  and  had  been 
published  by  them  in  pamphlet  form.  I  had  also 
become  interested  in  the  "  Legal  rights  of  Congre- 
gational churches,"  which  had  been  invaded  by 
certain  judicial  decisions.  I  prepared  an  elaborate 
article  on  the  subject,  which  I  sent  to  Boston  in 
the  winter  of  1828,  just  after  the  "  Spirit  of  the 
Pilgrims "  had  been  established.  The  article 
was  published  in  the  second  and  third  numbers 
of  the  new  periodical.  Shortly  after,  I  received 
a  unanimous  and  pressing  invitation  to  become 
the  editor  of  this  periodical.  The  "  Spirit  of  the 
Pilgrims"  was  started,  in  Boston,  in  1828,  by 
leading  Trinitarians,  as  an  organ  through  which 
to  carry  on  the  controversy  with  the  Unitarians, 
who,  as  was  thought,  had  in  an  unfair  manner 
secured  possession  of  the  high  places  of  influence 
in  the  State  ;  of  Harvard  College ;  of  the  Legis- 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


55 


lature  and  Judiciary  of  the  Commonwealth ;  and 
of  a  large  proportion  of  church  property  in 
Eastern  Massachusetts.  This  controversy,  which 
had  already  been  going  on  for  several  years  in  the 
State,  had  resulted  in  painful  separations  in 
Trinitarian  churches  and  among  their  ministers ; 
and  troublesome  questions  concerning  church 
property  and  the  legal  rights  of  churches  had 
arisen.  The  post  of  editor  of  this  periodical  was 
a  delicate  and  responsible  one,  and  I  held  back 
from  a  position  which  exposed  me  to  such  vigorous 
assaults  from  the  able  defenders  of  the  then  new 
heresy ;  and  only  the  urgency  and  encouragement 
of  Lyman  Beecher,  Dr.  Edward  Griffin,  Dr. 
Wisner,  Leonard  "Woods,  and  Samuel  "Worcester, 
prevailed. 

Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  and  Dr.  James  Chaplin,  of  Cambridge- 
port,  were  instructed,  by  the  directors  of  the  "  Spirit  of  the 
Pilgrims."  to  invite  my  father  to  occupy  the  chair  of  editor, 
offering  a  sufficient  salary,  and  assurances  of  influential 
support  from  them.  In  a  most  fraternal  letter,  Dr.  Beecher 
'pledges  his  own  aid  and  that  of  such  men  as  Mr.  Evarts,  Mr. 
Dana.  Dr.  Green,  and  Dr.  Ed.  Beecher.  I  do  not  find  my 
father's  reply,  but  the  directors  having  received  and  read  it, 
Dr.  Wisner,  one  of  their  number,  in  a  letter  dated  April  22, 
182S.  communicates  the  result  of  their  consultation.  "  First, 
we  must  have  you  at  any  rate.  You  have  been  educated  by 
Providence  for  the  place.  Your  taste  is  formed  for  it.  Your 
loyalty  to  truth  is  unquestionable.  Your  self-control  is  your 
strong  defence.  Your  quickness  to  see  points  which  need 
attention  fit  you  for  the  work,  and  you  can,  unmistakably, 
do  more  good  in  this  station  than  in  the  one  you  now 
occupy,  and  probably  more  than  in  any  to  which  you  will 


56 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


ever  be  called."  To  the  objection  that  the  church  in  Ward 
were  unwilling  to  part  with  their  pastor,  that  the  event 
might  divide  the  society,  etc.,  Dr.  YVisncr  replied:  "It 
is  an  argument  in  favor  of  a  person's  fitness  for  an 
important  position,  that  lie  has  been  acceptable  in  positions 
he  has  already  filled.  As  to  breaking  up  the  church,  would 
not  the  same  objection  lie  against  God*s  taking  you  away  by 
death?  And  may  not  God  as  really  call  you  away  by  his 
providence?  And  also,  where  is  an  instance  of  a  minister's 
leaving  his  people  from  a  sense  of  duty,  and  in  order  to  do 
more  for  Christ,  and  his  people  being  truly  injured  by  it? 
Even  when  they  have  behaved  wickedly  about  it.  the  Lord 
passes  by  their  wickedness  and  makes  up  to  them  the 
sacrifice  to  which  he  has  called  them."  The  letter  is  an 
ingenious  plea,  and  shows  that  what  was  once  said  of  my 
father,  "  If  he  had  not  been  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  he 
might  have  been  illustrious  as  a  man  of  law,"  might  also 
have  been  said  of  Dr.  Benjamin  Wisncr.  His  advice  as  to 
the  selection  of  members  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Council  to 
be  called  for  my  father's  dismissal,  shows  that  there  is  wire- 
pulling in  clerical,  as  well  as  in  political,  strategy.  In  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  good  doctor  over  the  "  Spirit  of  the 
Pilgrims,"  he  proves  himself  to  be  short-sighted  as  to  the 
breadth  of  my  father's  capabilities. 

After  a  severe  struggle,  I  decided  it  was 
my  duty  to  accept  the  invitation.  I  removed 
from  Ward,  in  May,  and  leased  a  house  in 
Cambridgeport,  where  I  resided  with  my  family, 
my  office,  as  editor,  being  in  Boston.  An  arrange- 
ment was  happily  made  by  which  my  people 
were  left  without  a  minister  but  for  a  single 
night.  The  Rev.  Miner  G.  Pratt  came  among 
them  the  day  after  I  left,  and  was  soon  ordained 
as  my  successor. 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


Some  years  before  this  I  had  been  deeply 
interested  in  the  Unitarian  controversy,  and 
was  engaged  with  Drs.  Moore,  Wisner,  Worces- 
ter, Rev.  S.  O.  Dwight,  Mr.  Huntingdon,  and 
others,  in  getting  up  the  "  Pastoral  Association," 
which  met  annually,  in  Boston,  in  election  week. 
With  these  noble  men  I  was  intimately  ac- 
quainted, and,  in  my  connection  with  the  peri- 
odical of  which  I  became  the  editor,  I  found  all 
the  pledges  they  had  made  of  championship  and 
moral  support  wholly  met.  I  resided  in  Cam- 
bridgeport  four  years.  I  was  sole  editor  of  the 
"  Spirit  of  the  Pilgrims "  for  that  time,  and  the 
first  five  volumes  were  published.  The  sixth 
and  last  volume  was  published  after  I  left.  Of 
the  manner  in  which  this  periodical  was  con- 
ducted, it  does  not  become  me  to  speak.  It  has 
long  been  before  the  public,  and  the  opinion  of 
the  public  has  long  been  formed  and  expressed 
respecting  it.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  for  its. influ- 
ence for  good  or  evil  I  am  mainly  responsible,  as 
I  wrote  nearly  half  its  pages  with  my  own  hand. 

The  topics  discussed  in  some  of  the  articles 
referred  to  as  written  for  the  "  Spirit  of  the 
Pilgrims  "  are  the  following  :  — 

Objections  to  Revivals  Considered.  Christian  Education. 
Five  Letters  on  the  Introduction  and  Progress  of  Unitarian- 
ism  in  New  England.  Rights  of  Congregational  Churches. 
Character  and  Prospects  of  the  Heathen.  Work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  What  Constitutes  Infidelity?  Hope  of  Future 
Repentance.  System  in  Religious  Chanties.  Unitarianism 
in  New  England.    Importance  of  a  Correct  Interpretation 


58 


A   MEMORIAL  OF 


of  Scripture.  Errors  in  the  Apostolic  Churches.  Wicked 
Men  do  not  Understand  the  Motives  of  Good  Men.  Uses 
and  Abuses  of  the  Doctrine  of  God's  Purposes.  Introduction 
of  Sin.  Sin  not  a  Necessary  Means  of  the  Greatest  Good. 
God's  Government  of  the  Moral  World.  Selfishness  of 
Depravity. 

These  are  the  topics  of  about  one  sixth  of  the  articles 
prepared  by  the  editor  for  his  periodical.  These  topics  arc 
exciting  discussion  in  the  Christian  world  at  the  present 
time,  and  will  continue  to  do  so  probably  to  the  end. 

Many  of  the  remaining  articles  are  wholly  controversial. 
Many  are  reviews  of  religious  publications. 

Dr.  Samuel  Harris,  of  New  Haven,  in  a  memorial  dis- 
course, says  of  this  magazine:  k>  This  periodical  was  ably 
and  vigorously  conducted,  and  was  regarded  as  a  powerful 
agency  in  vindicating  the  truth;  and  it  commanded  the 
respect  even  of  its  opponents.  Whatever  power  it  had  was 
mainly  due  to  the  editor.  He  contributed  to  it  one  hundred 
and  thirty-nine  articles." 

This  controversy  had  not  been  long  continued 
before  Unitarians  became  tired  of  it.  They 
mounted  over  its  evils,  and  sighed  fur  the  return 
of  that  peace  which  had  been  so  unhappily  dis- 
turbed. It  became  evident,  as  the  controversy 
continued,  that  Unitarians  differed  from  us,  not 
only  in  regard  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Trinity, 
and  the  person  of  Christ,  but  in  the  whole 
system  of  Christian  doctrine,  and  in  respect  even 
to  the  Bible  itself.  Their  views  of  the  Bible 
were,  that  it  is  not  a  revelation  ;  but  the  record 
of  a  revelation  ;  and  this  record  is  not  divinely 
inspired.  It  has  numerous  mistakes  and  errors, 
which  require  to  be  corrected,  as  in  other  books. 
Indeed,  many  Unitarians  do  not  believe  as  much 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


59 


as  this.  The  Bible  is  no  supernatural  revelation 
at  all,  but  rests  on  the  same  foundation  with 
the  works  of  ancient  sages  —  The  Shastt&s,  The 
Zendavesta,  The  Dialogues  of  Plato,  etc.  They 
have  indeed  no  bond  of  union  among  themselves; 
they  have  fallen  off  from  the  old  LTnitarianism. 
As  a  denomination,  they  have  broken  asunder, 
and  fallen  from  the  Light  into  materialism,  pan- 
theism, free-religionism,  and  infidelity.  "  Clouds 
without  water,  carried  about  of  winds ;  trees 
whose  fruit  withereth  ;  without  fruit,  twice 
dead,  plucked  up  by  the  roots." 

I  was  not  merely  an  editor  in  Boston,  but  also 
a  preacher.  The  Evangelical  Church  in  Cam- 
bridgeport  had  just  been  formed,  and  I  supplied 
the  pulpit  for  the  greater  part  of  two  years,  until 
they  obtained  a  pastor.  During  this  time  there 
was  one  season  of  special  religious  interest,  when 
many  young  persons  were  hopefully  converted, 
'and  among  them  one  of  my  own  children  —  my 
daughter  Cornelia.  I  was  repeatedly  solicited 
by  this  church  to  resign  my  editorial  chair 
and  become  the  pastor  of  the  church ;  but 
I  could  not  see  it  my  duty  to  do  so.  I  also 
preached  in  many  places  beside  Cambridgeport, 
in  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  where  the  orthodox 
were  leaving  the  old  societies,  now  become  Uni- 
tarians, and  forming  churches  by  themselves.  I 
ministered  to  other  churches,  when,  under  the 
decision  of  the  courts,  the  Evangelical  members 
of  the  churches,  though  they  constituted  the  major- 
ity, were  leaving  the  old  societies,  relinquishing 


60 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


church  property,  and  going  forth  to  organize 
and  build  anew.  This  was  the  case  in  Quincy, 
Acton,  Canton,  Scarborough,  and  Sherburne.  In 
Sherburne  I  preached  the  first  sermon  to  the 
Evangelical  Society,  in  a  hall  over  a  grocery- 
store.  This  was  in  April.  Before  winter  they 
had  organized  a  church,  built  a  house  of  worship, 
and  I  was  called  to  assist  in  the  settlement  of 
their  first  pastor,  Rev.  Samuel  Lee. 

Among  the  pleasant  things  connected  with  my 
residence  in  Cambridgeport  was  the  acquaintance 
formed  with  the  clergymen  of  Boston  and  its 
vicinity  ;  such  men  as  Dr.  Wisner,  Dr.  Skinner, 
then  of  Pine  Street  Church,  Dr.  Edwards,  then  of 
Salem  Street  Church,  Dr.  Samuel  Green,  of  Essex 
Street,  were  dear  and  intimate  friends.  Especially 
I  loved  and  admired  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher.  He  was 
then  in  the  prime  of  his  strength  and  good  influence 
in  Boston.  And  he  was,  on  the  whole,  the  most 
remarkable  man  I  ever  knew.  With  all  his  power 
as  a  preacher,  as  a  platform  speaker,  as  a  con- 
troversialist, he  united  the  simplicity  and  play- 
fulness of  a  little  child.  He  put  on  no  airs  of 
superiority,  and  among  his  friends  was  willing  to 
be  guided  by  their  counsels,  and  often  appealed  to 
them  for  help  in  practical  matters ;  and  these  last- 
mentioned  traits  made  him  the  most  lovable  man 
I  ever  knew.  Drs.  Beecher  and  Wisner  were 
admirably  adapted  to  work  together.  The  former 
was  ardent,  impulsive,  and  in  danger  in  some  cases 
of  going  too.  fast;  the  latter  was  inclined  to 
suggest  difficulties  and,  when  the  case  required  it, 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


61 


would  hang  on  his  wheels.  Another  acquaintance 
formed  ;it  this  time,  one  whom  I  can  never  forget, 
was  the  late  Jeremiah  Evarts.  Notwithstanding 
his  then  declining  health  and  feehle  body,  he  was 
one  of  the  ablest  men,  most  efficient  workers,  and 
wisest  counsellors,  I  ever  knew. 

The  years  I  spent  in  Boston  were  very  pleasant 
years  and  very  busy  years.  My  whole  soul  was 
interested  in  my  work.  My  friendships,  associa- 
tions, and  intellectual  advantages  enlarged  my 
views  and  quickened  my  mind.  I  had  a  degree  of 
success  sufficient  to  encourage  and  animate  me. 
Our  short  residence  in  Cambridgeport  was,  on  the 
whole,  I  trust,  one  of  peace,  prosperity,  and  useful- 
ness. We  had  many  things  to  attach  us  to  the 
church,  of  which  Ave  became  members,  and  to  the 
large  circle  of  friend?  and  acquaintances  in  which 
we  moved.  All  are  now  gone ;  but  memory  is 
often  busy  among  the  events  of  those  years.  Here 
we  lost  a  sweet  baby  daughter  by  croup.  Here 
two  sons  were  born  to  us,  William  C.  and  Jeremiah 
Evarts,  both  of  whom  are  in  active  service  for  the 
Master, — William,  a  pastor  in  California,  Evarts, 
in  Maine.  The  Unitarian  controversy  gradually 
subsided.  The  object  for  which  the  "  Spirit  of 
the  Pilgrims  "  was  established  had  been  attained, 
and  I  was  induced  to  listen  to  invitations  sent  to 
me  to  become  professor  of  theology  in  the  Semi- 
nary in  Bangor,  Maine. 


62 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


CHAPTER  VI. 

BANGOR  AND  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY. 

THE  first  settlements  in  what  is  now  the  City  of  Bangor 
were  made  in  1709.  The  eityis  beautifully  situated  at 
the  head  of  navigation  on  Penobscot  River.  For  many  years 
its  growth  was  very  slow.  The  earlier  settlers  came  generally 
from  Massachusetts,  possessed  a  strong  religious  element, 
and  were  many  of  them  members  of  churches  in  the  old 
homes  from  which  they  had  come  out  into  the  untried  wilder- 
ness. Christian  worship  was  begun  nearly  as  soon  as  the 
first  pettier  came;  but  the  places  of  worship  were  very 
rude  —  a  grove  of  oaks,  a  barn,  a  log  hut.  The  mission- 
ary sent  by  the  Christians  of  Massachusetts  was  always 
welcomed  by  the  scattered  people.  He  attended  to  their 
spiritual  wants,  administered  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper. 
In  178G,  the  first  minister,  Rev.  Seth  Noble,  from  Westfleld, 
Mass.,  was  settled,  though  at  that  time  there  was  no 
organized  cburch.  Rev.  Daniel  Little,  in  his  "Journal  of 
Missionary  Work  in  the  Eastern  Districts,"  in  17SG,  says: 
"The  people  in  the  '  Kenduskeag  Plantation  '  privately  gave 
to  Mr.  Noble  a  call  to  the  pastoral  office,  and,  as  the  trouble 
and  expense  of  gathering  an  ecclesiastical  council  was  great, 
they  voted  that  I  should  induct  Mr.  Noble  into  his  pastoral 
office  as  their  minister."  So  Mr.  Noble  was  s  ttled  on 
a  stipend  of  £100  a  year,  and  the  service  took  place  in 
a  grove  of  ancient  oaks,  where  the  corner  of  Oak  and 
Washington  Streets  now  is.  Mr.  Noble  preached  the 
sermon,  and  Mr.  Little  did  all  the  rest.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  the  first  church  in  Bangor.  Mr.  Noble  proved 
to  be  an  ignoble  character,  and  intemperate  even  in  those 
days;  but  he  rendered  the  young  city  some  valuable 
service.    He  at  least  has  the  credit  of  saving  Bangor 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


63 


from  the  burden  of  bearing  always  the  name  of  Sunbury. 
The  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  saw  a  perceptible 
start  in  the  settlement  towards  growth  and  progress- 
Lands  in  the  eastern  part  of  Maine  rose  in  value,  and 
speculation  became  a  fever.  Streets  were  laid  out,  buildings 
went  up,  and  immigration  increased. 

As.Bangor  Seminary  has  been,  for  fifty  years  and  to  the 
end  of  life,  the  object  of  my  father's  care  and  interest,  the 
subject  of  his  prayers  and  centre  of  his  labors,  it  may  be 
well  to  turn  back  to  the  pages  of  its  early  history  to  see  how 
itgrewout  of  the  necessity  for  it;  how  it  struggled  through 
the  first  year  of  its  existence;  how  it  has  gradually  become 
a  centre  of  spiritual  light  to  Maine  and  the  adjacent 
provinces.  I  find  materials  for  this  sketch  in  an  historical 
address  delivered  by  my  father,  in  1870,  on  the  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  the  Seminary. 

As  early  as  the  year  1810,  the  need  of  well-instructed 
religious  teachers  for  the  rapidly  increasing  population 
of  the  eastern  settlements  had  been  felt.  In  that  year 
an  association  was  formed  in  Portland,  Maine,  called 
the  "Society  for  Promoting  Theological  Education," 
and  was  one  of  the  first  educational  societies  in  the 
country. 

This  Society,  after  extended  correspondence  with  dis- 
tinguished clergymen  in  this  country  and  in  England, 
appointed  a  committee,  and  instructed  them  to  establish, 
as  speedily  as  possible,  the  proposed  Theological  Sem- 
inary. Through  the  efforts  of  this  committee  a  charter 
was  obtained  in  1814,  from  the  Legislature  of  Massa- 
chusetts (of  which  State  Maine  was  then  a  district), 
designating  certain  individuals  as  trustees  of  the  Maine 
Charity  School;  for  this  was  then,  and  is  now,  the  title 
of  the  institution.  The  first  meeting  of  these  trustees 
was  held  in  Montvillc,  Waldo  County,  when  Rev. 
Edward  Payson,  of  Portland,  was  chosen  President; 


G4 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


Samuel  C.  Dutton,  of  Bangor,  Treasurer.  The  trustees 
derided  not  to  locate  the  proposed  Theological  Seminary 
in  the  western  and  more  thickly  settled  part  of  the 
State,  hut  determined,  in  military  phrase,  to  "  march 
to  the  front,''  and  plant  it  in  the  midst  of  those  spiritual 
wastes  which  it  was  intended  to  build  up.  The  Sem- 
inary was  opened,  in  Hampden,  in  1816.  It  was 
founded  on  the  plan  of  the  English  dissenting  colleges. 
The  course  of  study  was  literary  and  classical,  as  well 
as  theological,  and  occupied  four  years.  Professors 
Wines,  Ashmun,  and  Cheever  were  the  first  instructors. 
It  does  not  appear  that  the  Seminary  ever  owned  any 
buildings  or  land  in  Hampden.  The  students  boarded 
and  studied  in  private  families,  and  had  recitations  and 
other  exercises  in  some  part  of  the  academy  building. 

In  1819,  a  lot  of  land  was  given  to  the  Seminary 
by  the  late  Isaac  Davenport,  Esq.,  of  Milton,  Mass. 
The  lot  contained  about  seven  acres,  and  was  favorably 
situated  in  the  town  of  Bangor;  hut  it  was  then  pretty 
much  in  a  state  of  nature  and  probably  of  little  value. 
This  land,  green  and  well  graded,  covered  with  trees, 
gardens,  walks,  and  Seminary  buildings,  is  now  of  very 
great  value.  In  the  autumn  of  this  year  the  Seminary 
was  removed  from  Hampden  to  Bangor.  In  the  same 
year  the  three  instructors,  Wiui's,  Ashmun,  and  Cheever, 
resigned,  and  were  no  longer  connected  witli  the  school. 

In  1820,  Rev.  John  Smith  was  inaugurated  as  pro- 
fessor of  theology;  Rev.  Bancroft  Fowler,  of  classical 
literature. 

The  institution  had  in  Bangor  its  valuable  lot  of 
land,  but  no  buildings  of  any  kind  until  1827,  when  one 
large  house.  Berving  for  recitation-rooms,  library,  board- 
ing-house, and  dormitories,  was  erected  on  the  south  side 
of  the  lot,  and  a  smaller  one,  called  a  chapel,  occupied 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


65 


by  the  preparatory  school.  Professor  Fowler  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1827  by  Rev.  George  E.  Adams.  The  late 
Dr.  Smith  continued  to  occupy  the  chair  of  theology  till 
his  death  in  1831. 

It  is  painful  to  read  the  records  of  the  trustees  during 
these  years,  and  learn  to  what  straits  they  were  often 
reduced.  In  December  of  1830,  the  trustees  voted,  that 
"unless  means  for  the  future  support  of  the  Seminary 
be  obtained  before  September  of  the  following  year, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  suspend  instruction  in  the 
theological  department  until  such  means  be  secured." 
Nevertheless,  theological  instruction  was  not  suspended. 
The  course  was  continued  till  the  decease  of  Dr.  Smith, 
and  up  to  that  time  more  than  sixty  young  men  have 
received  diplomas.  The  greater  part  of  these  had 
finished  their  course.  The  dying  Professor  Smith's 
anxiety  on  leaving  the  world  was  only  for  his  beloved 
Seminary,  and  his  last  intelligible  words  were  a  prayer 
in  its  behalf:  "God  bless  the  Seminary;  Thou  wilt  bless 
it  and  keep  it,  for  I  give  it  up  to  Thee.  I  can  do  no 
more  for  it;  Thou  canst  do  all  things."  The  death 
of  Dr.  Smith,  in  the  spring  of  1831,  left  the  Seminary 
without  an  instructor,  and  for  several  months  there  was 
(aside  from  the  classical  school)  no  instruction  given. 
In  the  autumn  of  1831,  Rev.  Alvan  Pond,  of  Sturbridge, 
Mass.,  was  elected  professor  of  sacred  literature;  and 
before  winter  he  commenced  giving  instruction  in  that 
department.  In  the  following  spring,  Eev.  Enoch  Pond, 
of  Poston,  was  elected  professor  of  theolog}'. 

The  letter  of  invitation  was  written  by  Rev.  S.  L. 
Poinroy.  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  11  Maine 
Charity  School."  By  this  letter  the  choice  of  the  trustees 
is  made  known,  its  acceptance  urged,  and  definite  proposals 
made.    Mr.  Pomroy  assures  Mr.  Bond  that  "he  will  not 


66 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


find  things  in  working  order."  "  Indeed,"  he  writes, 
"  almost  everything  is  to  be  done,  and  the  responsible  task 
will  devolve  on  you,  and  your  associate,  of  moulding  things 
into  right  shape  and  giving  them  a  right  direction."  The 
salary  offered  was  §800  a  year,  and  promise  given  of  a  house 
"  as  soon  as  circumstances  would  permit."  The  importance 
of  this  theological  school  to  Maine  is  set  forth  as  very 
great.  A  determination  on  the  part  of  the  trustees  to  make 
it  a  permanent  institution  is  declared,  and  strengthened  by 
the  assurance  of  the  awakening  of  the  religious  community 
in  Maine  to  its  importance.  The  only  endowment  was 
§10,000  for  the  theological  professorship. 

In  a  second  letter  Mr.  Poioroy  expresses  the  fears  of 
some  of  the  trustees,  as  to  Mr.  I'oud*s  soundness  on  some 
points  of  theological  belief,  at  that  time  much  discussed  by 
leading  theologians;  but  concludes,  if  he  will  come,  to 
waive  objections  to  "  New  Divinity,"  etc.  Bangor,  at  that 
time,  was  the  headquarters  of  the  speculation  in  eastern 
lands,  and  was  rapidly  filling  up  and  overflowing  with 
people.  Mr.  Pouiroy  writes  :  "  Our  village  is  now  inundated 
with  inhabitants,  and  it  is  difficult  to  procure  a  house  for 
love  or  money.  The  State  seems  destined  to  contain  a 
mighty  mass  of  people,  and  the  providence  of  God  seems 
to  point  out  this  institution  as  a  permanent  means  of  moral 
and  religious  influence,  at  least  within  our  own  bounds." 

In  his  reply  to  Mr.  Tomroy's  letters  Mr.  Pond  says :  — 
"  The  case  lias  been  to  me  an  exceedingly  trying  one. 
My  duties,  though  arduous,  are  adapted  to  my  taste 
and  habits:  my  present  situation  agreeable.  I  am 
surrounded  with  literary  and  Christian  friends,  and 
with  books,  and  my  means  of  living  are  much  better 
than  those  proposed  by  your  board. 

"On  the  other  hand  I  can  say  I  have  felt  a  deep 
interest  in  your  Seminary  from  its  establishment;  I 
seem  to  see  an  increasing  importance  attached  to  it, 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  1).  D. 


67 


growing  out  of  recent  developments  in  Maine.  T  have 
been  acquainted  with  your  efforts  and  discouragements 
in  endeavoring  to  procure  a  successor  to  Dr.  Smith,  and 
I  have  sometimes  felt  a  strong  inclination,  and,  I  think, 
a  sense  of  duty  (unworthy  and  incompetent  as  I  feel 
myself  to  be),  to  go  down  to  Bangor  and  make  the  trial. 
My  friends  here  have  been  divided  in  opinion  respecting 
the  course  I  ought  to  take ;  some  very  strong  against 
my  removal,  others  seeming  to  be  convinced  in  con- 
science that  I  ought  to  accede  to  your  proposal;  so 
that  in  settling  my  mind  I  get  little  or  no  assistance 
from  them.  I  have  regarded  my  case  as  emphatically 
one  of  those  referred  to  by  the  Apostle  James  when  he 
says:  'If  any  man  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God.' 
Under  these  impressions  I  have  endeavored  again  and 
again  to  commit  the  whole  case  to  my  Heavenly  Father, 
and  to  seek  light  and  direction  from  him.  I  have  said, 
andean  say  with  entire  sincerity  (if  I  am  not  deceived): 
•  Dispose  of  me  as  thou  wilt;  keep  me  here  or  send  me 
there;  place  me  in  that  position  where  I  can  do  most 
for  thy  cause  and  the  advancement  of  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom.  If  thy  Spirit  and  presence  go  not  with  me, 
take  me  not  hence.'  At  length  my  mind  has  come 
to  a  conclusion,  in  which  it  seems  at  present  to  rest. 
I  have  made  arrangements  to  leave  the  '  Spirit  of  the 
Pilgrims  '  in  such  hands  that  I  think  it  may  be  suc- 
cessfully continued,  and  have  concluded,  if  certain 
conditions  are  met  by  your  board,  to  accept  the  appoint- 
ment with  which  your  trustees  have  honored  me.  If 
these  conditions  are  complied  with,  you  may  announce 
my  acceptance  at  any  time  or  in  any  manner ;  as  quietly 
as  possihle  will  be  the  most  agreeable  to  me." 


68 


A  MEMORIAL  OE 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MY  RESIDENCE  IN  BANGOR  IN  CONNECTION 
WITH  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY. 

J~  CAME  to  Bangor  from  Boston  in  a  schooner, 
that  being  the  only  water  communication ; 
while  the  journey  by  land  would  have  been  by 
stage-coach,  wearisome  and  expensive.  I  came 
with  my  wife  and  six  children  in  the  month  of 
June,  1832.  Our  voyage  was  pleasant  and  short. 
We  arrived  on  a  Sabbath  afternoon,  and  were 
received  as  boarders  by  Mr.  William  Davenport, 
who  lived  in  a  large  two-story  yellow  house  nearly 
opposite  to  the  present  location  of  the  "  Bangor 
House."  We  had  never  seen  Bangor  before  ;  and 
it  was  Avell  perhaps  that  we  had  not.  I  found 
the  Theological  Seminary  in  a  much  weaker  and 
more  dilapidated  state  than  I  had  expected.  The 
Seminary  grounds  were  here  ;  and  on  them  one 
solitary  three-story  building,  containing  all  the 
rooms  which  the  institution  offered  for  the  accom- 
modation of  students,  and  public  uses  of  the 
school.  There  were  seven  students  here :  five 
in  the  junior,  two  in  the  senior  class.  The 
senior  class  was  soon  to  graduate.  The  two 
members  of  it  were  Wooster  Parker  and  Cyril 
Pearl.  Professor  Alvan  Bond  was  here  with 
his  family.  The  library  consisted  of  a  few  hun- 
dred books,  many  of  which  needed  rebinding 


KEY.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


69 


before  they  could  be  used.  The  Seminary  had 
no  funds,  and  was  considerably  in  debt.  For 
the  payment  of  the  professors'  salaries,  eight 
hundred  dollars  each,  the  Seminary  depended  on 
the  contributions  of  the  churches  and  benevolent 
individuals.  But  the  Seminary  had  a  good  char- 
ter ;  it  was  well  located ;  and  the  late  Mrs.  Phebe 
Lord,  of  Kennebunkport,  Maine,  —  a  name  never 
to  be  spoken  but  with  honor,  —  had  just  given  one 
thousand  dollars  for  the  library.  As  I  was  here, 
with  my  family  and  household  goods,  I  concluded 
I  would  not  turn  about  and  go  back.  Brother 
Bond  and  I  hired  a  double  house  in  Ohio  Street, 
.where  lie  lived  until  he  left  Bangor,  and  we 
resided  till  1837. 

From  this  period  the  story  of  my  life  will  be 
continued  under  several  divisions.  First,  my  con- 
nection with  the  Seminary. 

About  two  weeks  after  my  arrival  in  Bangor, 
the  General  Conference  of  our  churches  met  in 
Wiscasset,  and  I  went  in  company  with  Rev. 
Mr.  Pomroy  to  attend  the  meeting.  It  was  the 
first  time  I  met  the  ministers  and  churches  of 
Maine.  In  1827,  the  trustees  invited  the  Con- 
ference to  send  a  committee,  year  by  year,  to 
visit  the  institution,  to  look  into  its  affairs,  and 
to  make  report  as  to  its  condition  and  prospects. 

The  invitation  was  accepted,  and  this  arrange- 
ment connects  the  Seminary  with  the  churches, 
and  brings  it  under  their  supervision.  If  any- 
thing wrong  should  be  done  at  the  Seminary,  or 
any  error  or   irregularity  allowed,  the  case  at 


TO 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


once  would  be  reported  to  the  churches,  where 
it  might  be  corrected.  At  the  Conference  of  1832, 
the  case  of  the  Seminary  was  taken  up,  and  it 
was  voted  to  raise  the  sum  of  $30,000,  in  four 
annual  payments,  to  relieve  its  wants.  I  was 
greatly  encouraged  by  this  vote,  and  we  com- 
menced at  once  the  getting  up  of  the  subscrip- 
tion. The  principal  part  of  the  labor  of  raising 
the  subscription  devolved  on  me.  The  sum  was 
all  subscribed  and  most  of  it  paid,  though  not  in 
the  precise  manner  at  first  contemplated.  As  our 
new  subscription  became  available,  it  was  resolved 
to  erect  a  new  Seminary  building,  and  the  large 
brick  dormitory  was  put  up,  and  the  northern 
half  finished  in  1834. 

In  making  up  this  subscription  I  went  over  the 
State  and  visited  many  of  the  churches ;  preached 
and  conversed,  and  wrote  hundreds  of  letters. 
In  this  effort  to  raise  money,  and  in  the  man}' 
subsequent  labors  of  this  kind,  I  never  consid- 
ered myself  in  the  light  of  a  beggar,  nor  allowed 
in  myself  any  personal  feelings  of  gratification, 
disappointment,  or  picpue.  As  earnestly  as  I 
could,  I  urged  the  case  in  its  true  light,  upon 
those  I  addressed,  and  left  results  with  God ;  *and 
the  responsibility  of  giving  or  withholding,  with 
the  consciences  of  my  hearers.  I  can  say,  without 
boasting,  that  I  have  been  the  means  of  securing 
at  least  the  larger  half  of  the  funds  now  in  the 
Seminary  treasury.  At  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1834,  we  had  a  class  of  eight  enter,  which  in- 
creased our  number  to  sixteen.    These  all  had 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


71 


rooms  in  the  new  building.  In  this  building  also 
were  recitation-rooms,  library,  and  a  room  fitted 
up  for  the  classical  school,  and  used  also  as  a 
chapel ;  and  the  same  year  the  library  was  en- 
riched by  more  than  a  thousand  volumes.  Thus 
the  prosperity,  which  has  given  to  Bangor  Theo- 
logical Seminary  adequate  buildings,  a  good 
library,  and  a  considerable  part  of  the  needed 
funds  for  the  support  of  an  able  Faculty,  was 
planned  and  well  begun.  The  accomplishment 
has  been  the  great  labor  of  my  best  years. 

Dr.  Cyrus  Hamlin  communicates  this  letter,  giving  his 
recollections  of  our  father,  as  he  was  at  this  time :  — 

"  I  first  saw  Dr.  Pond  at  Bowdoin  College  in  the  year  1832, 
the  same  in  which  he  entered  on  his  work  in  the  Seminary 
in  Bangor.  He  was  then  forty-one  years  old ;  a  man  well 
huilt,  with  a  countenance  of  mingled  mildness  and  firmness, 
intelligent,  thoughtful,  and  in  his  whole  physique  and 
bearing  answering  well  to  the  reputation  which  his  able 
editorship  of  the  1  Spirit  of  the  Pilgrims '  had  already 
given  him.  He  preached  for  Dr.  Adams  morning,  after- 
noon, and  evening,  of  the  Sabbath,  to  a  full  house.  He 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  students  to  an  anusual  degree. 
His  sermons. were  clear,  cogent,  and  practical.  He  left  an 
impression  that  the  Congregational  interest  in  Maine  had 
received  a  most  valuable  accession  to  its  strength.  In  the 
religious  revival  of  1833-34,  he  visited  Brunswick  again  to 
assist  Dr.  Adams,  and  his  word  was  with  power.  His 
efficient  weapon  was  the  '  Sword  of  the  Spirit,  the  Word  of 
God.1  This  he  wielded  with  irresistible  force  and  solemnity. 
He  left  the  hearer  no  chance  to  reply  or  object,  except  be- 
coming in  conflict  with  the  Word  of  God.  It  was  the 
Biblical  characteristic  of  his  preaching  that  drew  students 
to  him.  His  sermons  were  so  well  reasoned  out  of  the 
Bible,  that  they  carried  the  weight  and  authority  of  Divine 


A  MEMORIAL,  OF 


truth  -with  them.  They  were  neve  r  based  on  one  or  two 
proof  texts,  but  they  took  the  scope  and  trend  of  inspired 
truth  into  view.  His  argument  accumulated  force  as  it 
advanced,  and  at  the  close  he  could,  as  he  sometimes  did, 
appeal  to  his  hearers  to  admit  his  positions,  or  take  the 
alternative  that  the  Bible  is  a  lie.  There  was  great  power 
in  his  earnest  and  perfect  confidence  in  the  Word  of  God,  as 
eternal  truth.  He  preached  as  though  he  believed  every 
hearer  would  so  regard  it. 

'•Anather  attractive  feature  of  his  preaching  was  the 
entire  absence  of  all  display,  ornament,  or  mere  rhetoric. 
Students  like  all  these  in  themselves,  but  not  in  the  revival 
preacher.  Professor  Newman  had  taught  as  wisel}'  and 
well  the  place  and  value  of  naturalness,  —  of  being  true  to 
nature  in  style  and  manner,  and  of  having  each  part  in 
keeping  with  the  rest.  Dr.  Po:id's  style  was  an  excellent 
example  of  this.  He  was  naturally,  not  artificially,  earnest. 
There  was  no  affected  solemnity  of  tone  or  manner.  There 
was  often  the  hush  and  rapt  silence  of  the  great  audience, 
that  evinced  profound  attention,  but  it  was  the  cogency 
of  the  reasoning,  the  power  of  truth  forcibly  stated,  that 
produced  it. 

He  met  quite  a  number  of  us  students  in  a  more  private 
way,  to  commend  to  our  attention  Bangor  Seminary.  We 
liked  the  man,  we  thought  him  frank,  genial,  yet  courageous 
and  strong.  He  was  a  man  among  men,  a  man  who  could 
hold  his  own  anywhere,  and  command  respect.  His  frank- 
ness and  honesty  were  so  manly  and  genuine  as  to  disarm 
roughness  and  malice,  and  make  hypocrisy  blush.  We 
liked  moreover  his  earnest  enthusiasm  for  the  Theological 
Seminary  in  Bangor.  Up  to  that  date,  1834,  most  of  its 
students  had  entered  after  a  preparatory  course  of  four  or 
five  years  in  the  classical  school.  But  that  year  and  the 
next  drew  some  fifteen  and  twenty  college  graduates,  and 
constituted  an  era  in  the  history  of  the  Seminary.  They 
were  drawn  thither  by  the  character,  ability,  and  scholar- 
ship of  the  two  professors,  Pond  and  Bond.'- 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


73 


The  question  of  students  was  one  which  at 
the  first  gave  Brother  Bond  and  myself  great 
anxiety.  Under  the  previous  administrations,  no 
college  graduates  had  heen  connected  with  the 
Seminary,  and  it  was  feared  they  would  turn 
from  it  in  the  future.  Our  Theological  School 
was  then  young.  Our  location  is  farther  to  the 
east  than  any  of  the  colleges ;  and  to  enter 
Bangor  Seminary,  graduates  must  turn  away 
from  long-settled  and  well-manned  institutions. 
This  disadvantage  still  exists ;  and  to  fill  our 
halls  with  liherally-educated  students,  constant 
effort  must  he  made,  peculiar  advantages  offered, 
and  motives  touching  the  piety  and  loyalty  of  the 
Christian  young  men  of  Maine  must  he  urged. 
With  this  object  in  view,  I  visited  Bowdoin  College 
in  1832  and  1834,  and  also  visited  Dartmouth  and 
some  other  colleges  in  New  England.  In  1833, 
several  college  graduates  entered  the  Seminary. 
In  the  autumn  of  1834,  nineteen  students 
entered  the  junior  class,  eight  of  whom  were 
graduates  of  Bowdoin  College.  Among  those 
who  entered  in  these  years  were  Dr.  Benjamin 
Tappan,  Dr.  Cyrus  Hamlin,  Professor  II.  B.  Smith, 
Henry  G.  Storer,  Franklin  Yeaton,  and  others 
well-known  to  us  all.  I  have  ever  felt  under 
special  obligations  to  the  young  men  who  came 
to  us  at  that  time.  They  did  it  certainly  under 
some  sacrifice  of  feeling.  They  did  it  from  a 
sense  of  duty,  and  for  the  public  good,  and  I 
trust  it  was  never  to  them  a  cause  of  regret. 
They  actually  did  more  to  advance  the  interests 


74 


A  MEMORIAL.  OF 


of  the  Seminary  than  if  they  had  given  us  thou- 
sands of  dollars.  They  set  an  example  which 
had  influence  ;  they  turned  the  tide  in  our  favor ; 
and  from  that  time  to  this  the  question  of 
students  has  given  us  but  little  trouble. 

The  only  circumstance  in  the  next  year  which 
cast  a  cloud  over  the  prospects  of  the  Seminary 
was  the  failure  of  Professor  Bond's  health,  which, 
much  to  the  sorrow  of  the  trustees  and  himself, 
constrained  him  to  resign  his  post.  This  took 
place  in  the  spring  of  1835. 

He  was  afterward  settled  in  the  ministry  at 
Norwich,  Conn.,  and  has  proved  himself  to  be 
a  most  faithful  and  devoted  pastor.  He  still 
lives  to  labor  for  Christ,  though  not  now  in 
the  active  duties  of  the  ministry. 

Dr.  Bond  died  about  six  months  after  my  father,  in  1882. 
Says  one  who  visited  him  a  little  while  before  his  death: 
"  When  I  saw  him  in  his  serene,  lovely  old  age,  he  spoke 
with  deep  and  tender  emotion  of  those  years  in  Bangor,  and 
with  admiration  of  the  'heroic  warfare  of  Brother  Pond' 
for  the  beloved  Seminary.  Thus  have  passed  two  noble 
and  beloved  men,  with  whose  names  no  sentiments  but  those 
of  love  and  reverence  can  ever  be  associated.  Each  did  his 
work  in  a  different  way  from  the  other;  each  was  excellent 
in  his  own  way." 

The  vacancy  caused  by  Professor  Bond's  resig- 
nation was  soon  happily  filled.  In  June,  1835, 
Rev.  Leonard  Woods,  Jr.,  then  of  New  York, 
was  elected  professor  of  sacred  literature,  and 
entered  on  his  duties  in  the  autumn ;  "  a 
polished,  accomplished,  scholarly,  and  fascinating 
man." 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


75 


The  year  1835  was  the  height  of  the  M  Eastern- 
Lands"  speculation,  and  everybody  was  growing, 
or  thought  himself  growing,  rich,  in  the  vicinity 
of  Bangor.  In  June  of  this  year,  the  Conference 
of  Congregational  Churches  met  in  Bangor, 
and  a  proposition  was  made  that  8100,000 
be  raised,  to  be  paid  in  four  equal  annual 
payments,  for  the  purpose  of  completing  the 
endowment  of  the  Seminary.  The  proposition 
was  adopted,  with  the  understanding  that  those 
who  had  not  paid  on  their  previous  subscription, 
might  merge  their  indebtedness  in  this.  This 
subscription  was  obtained  chiefly  by  my  efforts, 
and  the  friends  of  the  Seminary  now  supposed 
that  its  pecuniary  embarrassments  were  at  an 
end.  But  subsequent  events  proved  the  insta- 
bility of  human  affairs,  and  how  little  dependence 
can  be  placed  on  the  brightest  earthly  prospects. 
The  subscription  was  raised  in  a  time  of  specu- 
lation, and  of  high  fancied  or  seeming  prosperity. 
In  the  pecuniary  reverses  which  followed,  and 
the  consequent  depreciation  of  almost  all  kinds 
of  property,  many  individuals  who  had  sub- 
scribed liberally,  and  in  good  faith,  found 
themselves  unable  to  meet  their  engagements, 
or  even  to  pay  their  honest  debts.  An  aged 
Christian  gentleman  in  Bangor,  subscribed  616,- 
000  to  endow  a  professorship,  but  was  never 
able  to  pay  a  cent  of  it.  These  subscriptions 
were  paid  irregularly,  and  not  more  than  a  third 
of  them  were  ever  paid.  Still  the  subscription 
was  a  great  blessing  to  the  Seminary.    It  enabled 


76 


A  MEMORIAL  Otf 


the  trustees  to  complete  and  furnish  buildings, 
meet  current  expenses,  enlarge  the  library ;  and 
I  hardly  see  how  the  Seminary  could  have  been 
kept  in  operation,  during  the  years  of  revulsion 
and  distress  which  followed  the  expansion  of  1835, 
without  it. 

Until  the  year  1836,  there  had  been  but  two 
professors  in  the  Seminary:  one  of  theology  and 
one  of  sacred  literature.  Professor  Woods  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  the  latter  professorship, 
and  I  did  all  the  rest.  In  addition  to  theology, 
I  gave  such  instruction  as  I  could  in  ecclesiastical 
history,  homiletics,  and  pastoral  duties.  My 
method  of  teaching  theology  was,  substantially, 
that  of  Dr.  Emmons  and  of  the  private  teachers 
in  New  England.  I  first  gave  out  a  subject  with 
a  list  of  books  to  be  consulted.  I  then  read  one 
or  more  lectures  on  the  subject,  and  had  a  full 
and  free  discussion  of  it  with  the  class.  Then 
each  of  the  students  was  required  to  prepare  an 
essay  on  the  subject,  and  these  essays  were 
publicly  (that  is,  before  the  whole  class)  read, 
criticised,  and  discussed.  Our  sessions  sometimes 
continued  for  two  or  three  hours.  With  the 
reading  and  discussion  of  the  essays,  the  consid- 
eration of  that  particular  subject  closed ;  to  be 
followed  by  another  and  then  another,  to  be 
treated  in  the  same  way.  When  all  the 
topics  in  the  course  had  been  thus  gone  over, 
the  whole  was  carefully  reviewed,  and  prepa- 
ration was  made  for  the  closing  examination. 
This  method  of  teaching  theology  I  decidedly 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  I  . 


77 


prefer  to  that  of  teaching  solely  by  lectures.  It 
furnishes  a  much  better  mental  discipline,  and 
prepares  the  scholar  to  think  and  reason  for 
himself.  In  many  instances  I  have  been  sur- 
prised at  the  improvement  students  would  make 
in  their  modes  of  thinking,  speaking,  and  writing, 
while  passing  through  the  studies  of  our  middle 
year.  The  opinion  here  expressed  as  to  the  effect 
of  our  method  of  teaching  theolog}-,  has  been 
confirmed  by  some  of  our  best  students.  In  a 
letter  from  the  late  Rev.  Nathan  Dole,  I  find  :  '4 1 
improved  more  during  my  middle  year  in  the 
Seminary  than  in  any  other  year  of  my  life ;  and 
your  method  of  study  for  the  young  men  seems 
admirably  adapted  to  its  end.  I  have  been  on  the 
point  of  saying  this  to  you  several  times  of  late, 
as  I  have  freely  said  it  to  others."  Let  me  add, 
however,  that  no  course  of  study,  however  well- 
adapted  and  complete  in  itself,  can  make  a  student 
a  theologian,  without  his  own  persevering  efforts. 
He  must  himself  study ;  he  must  study  hard. 
He  must  not  only  read  and  hear,  but  he  must 
think  and  write,  and  thus  task  and  discipline 
and  strengthen  his  own  powers.  In  the  study 
of  theology,  the  student  must  not  hold  himself 
in  the  attitude  of  a  mere  receiver,  to  drink 
in  and  retain  the  thoughts  of  others;  but 
in  the  attitude  of  a  thinker,  who  is  thinking 
for  himself;  who  is  actively  comparing  what 
he  reads  and  hears  with  the  decisions  of  his 
own  consciousness  and  of  the  Word  of  God, 
thus  making  his  system  of  theology,  in  the  best 
sense  of  the  term,  his  system. 


78 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


Eev.  R.  B.  Thurston,  one  of  my  father's  pupils  in  the 
Seminary,  gives  this  reminiscence  of  his  theological 
class :  "As  a  theological  instructor  Dr.  Pond  had  many  ex- 
cellences. He  was  not  a  system-builder.  He  had  no  ambi- 
tion to  found  a  new  scbool  of  speculative  divinity.  It  was  a 
small  matter  to  him  to  overhang  a  pillow  of  sacred  truth 
with  a  network  of  human  logic.  But  he  had  clear  views  and 
solid  convictions.  He  stated  the  results  of  his  own  reading 
and  meditation  with  discriminating  and  lucid  expression. 
His  great  desire  was  to  have  points  of  doctrine  proved  by 
the  Scripture,  and  proved  in  the  essays  of  his  classes. 
After  the  readings  of  my  own  class,  on  the  Divinity  of 
Christ,  he  said,  pleasurably,  '  I  believe  you  have  all  proved 
it.'  The  class  was  one  of  the  largest  ever  graduated  from 
Bangor  Seminary,  and  about  equally  divided  between  old- 
school  and  new-school  divinity.  The  wind  of  disputation 
often  blew  hard,  and  positions  were  assailed  on  every  side. 
Dr.  Pond  never  sought  to  suppress  by  dogmatism.  He 
preserved  his  dignity  and  power  as  a  teacher  without  putting 
constraint  upon  our  thought.  He  was  quick,  bright,  keen,  as 
well  as  kindly.  I  am  sure  that  all  held  him  in  high  esteem  for 
his  quickening  influence  upon  our  minds,  stimulating  us  to 
the  honest,  earnest,  reverent  pursuit  of  truth.  He  was 
orthodox,  but  would  not  imprison  the  sinner  within  the  five 
points  of  Calvinism,  so  that  gospel  offers  become  a  paradox  ; 
nor  let  down  the  sovereignty  of  God,  so  that  Deity  is 
subject  to  human  will.  His  breadth,  both  of  understanding 
and  of  heart,  was  manifest  in  his  expectation  of  meeting  in 
heaven  those  great  men  who,  like  Socrates,  sought  truth  by 
nature's  light,  and  in  his  confidence  in  the  piety  of  little 
children,  who,  in  the  expression  of  their  love,  seemed  to 
him  not  to  be  in  the  Pauline  sense  'in  the  flesh.'"' 

In  1836,  Rev.  George  Shepard,  of  Hallowell, 
Maine,  was  elected  professor  of  sacred  rhetoric. 
The  supposed  endowment,  on  which  he  was 
appointed,  failed,  like  many  other  expectations 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


T9 


of  that  ill-fated  time ;  but  Professor  Shepard 
did  not  fail  us;  he  never  failed  us.  He  was, 
from  the  first,  of  inestimable  value  to  the 
Seminary. 

A  man  of  massive  form  and  majesty  of  movement; 
strong,  yet  with  the  simplicity  of  a  child;  mighty  in  con' 
densing  thought,  as  the  energies  of  a  storm  are  sometimes 
condensed  into  a  single  hurst  of  lightning,  thunder,  and 
rain;  his  countenance  becoming  luminous  in  the  moments 
of  intensest  ardor  in  public  speech.  —  Dr.  ^^ff  Harris. 


This  beloved  brother  continued  with  us  thirty- 
two  years,  residing  with  his  family  under  the 
same  roof  with  me  and  mine.  In  the  spring  of 
1868,  he  was  suddenly  removed  from  us  by  death. 
For  months  he  had  shown  marks  of  decrepitude, 
and  it  had  been  evident  to  us  that  his  work  was 
nearly  done.  I  cannot  here  dwell  on  the  character 
of  my  beloved  and  honored  friend.  His  works 
remain  ;  and  he  has  left  a  memorial  in  the  hearts 
of  all  who  knew  him,  which  can  never  be  effaced. 

Dr.  Shepard's  character  showed  a  rare  combination  of 
natural  diffidence  and  consciousness  of  power,  aroused  by 
sense  of  duty  and  responsibility.  A  diffident  nature,  when 
mastered  and  wisely  regulated,  becomes  itself  an  additional 
element  of  power  and  of  beauty  of  character.  The  reusing 
of  one's  self,  inevitable  to  the  facing  of  dreaded  duties, 
moves  the  whole  soul,  keeps  it  exalted  and  intense,  brings 
out  the  full  force  of  its  faculties.  A  man  naturally  diffident, 
whose  diffidence  is  made  to  yield  to  principle,  is  usually  the 
bravest  and  boldest  when  there  is  need  of  it;  and  with  a 
bravery  that  has  in  it  so  little  of  self-assertion  and  so  much 
of  modesty,  that  the  blending  of  the  opposite  qualities  lends 
a  peculiar  fascination  to  the  character. — Bev.  G.  W.  Field. 


80 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


During  the  year  1836  a  boarding-house  was 
erected ;  and  arrangements  made  for  the  board- 
ing of  students,  which  have  worked  admirably 
and  are  still  followed  out.  During  this  year  the 
Classical  School  connected  with  the  Seminary  was 
closed.  It  had  been  sustained  at  considerable 
expense,  and  had  been  very  useful.  Here  stu- 
dents had  been  prepared  for  the  Seminary,  who 
had  received  no  collegiate  education ;  but  there 
seemed  to  be  no  longer  a  necessity  for  it.  The 
large  building  devoted  to  its  use  was  remodeled, 
and  made  into  a  double  house  for  two  professors. 

In  August,  1839,  Professor  Woods  resigned  his 
chair,  to  become  President  of  Bowdoin  College. 

Of  President  Woods,  Professor  Alpheus  Packard  writes : 
"A  rare  reputation  for  profound  and  elegant  scholarship, 
for  power  and  beauty  as  a  writer,  and  for  great  conver- 
sational ability,  brought  him  to  Brunswick.  He  held  the 
office  of  President  of  Bowdoin  College  till  1866.  and  at  that 
time  resigned,  being  in  his  sixtieth  year,  and  his  resignation 
was  accepted.  He  spent  some  time  in  Europe  in  the  interests 
of  the  Maine  Historical  Society.  The  results  of  this  re- 
search appeared  in  the  first  and  second  volumes  of  the  Doc- 
umentary History  of  Maine.  In  1873,  a  fire  consumed 
nearly  all  his  manuscripts  and  most  of  his  beloved  books, 
destroying  also  a  great  part  of  the  results  of  his  literary 
labor.  He  never  recovered  from  the  nervous  shock  which 
this  gave  him.  Eepeatcd  attacks  of  paralysis  resulted  in 
the  utter  decay  of  his  brilliant  powers,  and  in  his  death 
December  24,  1878." — History  of  Bowdoin  College. 

On  the  same  day  of  Professor  Woods'  resig- 
nation, Rev.  Daniel  Smith  Talcott,  of  Newbury- 
port,  was  chosen  his  successor,  and  was  inaugu- 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


81 


rated  at  the  anniversary  in  1840.  He  still  fills 
the  professorship  of  sacred  literature  with  great 
acceptance. 

Of  him  Dr.  Harris  remarks,  in  his  "  Memorial  of  Dr. 
Pond":  "It  was  my  good  fortune  that  the  junior  class, 
of  which  I  was  a  member  in  Andover  Theological  School, 
had  Dr.  Talcott,  who  had  just  completed  his  professional 
studies,  as  their  instructor  in  Hebrew;  and  a  more  efficient 
and  successful  teacher  I  never  knew.  More  than  this  his 
presence  with  us  to-day  forbids  me  to  say." 

Again  the  endowment  of  our  professorship  of 
sacred  rhetoric  failed.  Owing  to  the  celebrity 
of  our  beloved  Professor  Shepard  as  a  preacher, 
and  the  charm  of  his  character,  he  was  repeatedly 
assailed  with  invitations  to  remove  to  more 
imposing  and  lucrative  positions.  The  most 
formidable  of  these  assaults  was  made  in  the 
spring  of  1847,  when  he  was  urged  by  a  united 
people,  and  tempted  by  the  offer  of  a  large 
salary,  to  become  pastor  of  the  Pilgrim  Church 
and  Society,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  Professor  Shep- 
ard had  promised  to  go,  unless  his  professor- 
ship should  be  sufficiently  and  solidly  endowed  by 
a  stated  time  ;  and  a  committee  had  come  on 
from  the  church  to  see  that  the  separation  was 
effected.  I  felt  that  it  was  time  for  the  friends 
of  the  Seminary  to  bestir  themselves.  I  went 
first  of  all  to  that  generous  and  reliable  friend 
of  the  Seminary,  Hon.  G.  W.  Pickering.  As  I 
entered  the  room,  Mr.  Pickering  welcomed  me, 
and  said :  "  Dr.  Pond,  I  know  what  you  have 
come  for,"  and  at  once,  almost  without  solicita- 


82 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


tion,  pledged,  and  secured  by  mortgage  of  his 
own  dwelling-house,  $5,000.  I  secured  myself 
the  whole  subscription,  and  that,  too,  in  the  space 
of  a  week's  time,  and  by  the  liberality  chiefly  of 
Bangor  Christians,  and  the  endowment  was 
completed.  These  friends  are  entitled  to  the 
credit  of  saving  the  Seminary ;  for  if  Professor 
She}  ard  had  left,  Professor  Talcott  and  I  should 
have  resigned,  and  the  Seminary,  to  all  human 
appearance,  would  have  been  irrevocably  ruined. 
But  the  subscription  was  raised  and  the  Seminary 
saved. 

In  1819,  two  legacies  from  the  late  Waldo 
family  of  Worcester,  Mass.,  amounting  to  $12,000, 
were  received ;  $8,000  had  already  been  given  by 
the  family ;  making  in  all  $20,000. 

I  had  been  a  special  friend  of  the  family  before 
I  came  to  Bangor,  and  there  was  nothing  in 
particular  to  attract  them  to  our  Seminary  except 
my  connection  with  it.  The  sum  was  used  in 
the  endowment  of  the  professorship  of  ecclesi- 
astical history,  which  bears,  and  I  hope  may 
always  bear,  the  honored  name  of  Waldo. 

In  the  autumn  of  1854,  having  discharged  the 
duties  of  two  professorships  (those  of  theology 
and  of  history)  for  twenty-two  years,  I  requested 
to  be  released  from  one  of  them;  and  as  I 
earnestly  desired,  while  I  lived,  to  see  the  pro- 
fessorship of  theology  satisfactorily  provided  for, 
I  proposed  to  relinquish  that,  and  confine  my 
attention  in  future  to  the  department  of  ecclesi- 
astical history. 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


83 


My  proposition  was  acceded  to,  and,  in  the 
spring  of  1855,  Rev.  Samuel  Harris,  of  Pittsfield, 
Mass.,  was  elected  to  the  chair  of  theology.  This 
appointment  was  accepted,  and  at  the  following 
anniversary  Professor  Harris  was  inaugurated; 
I  was  formally  transferred  to  the  department  of 
history,  and  constituted  President  of  the  Faculty. 
On  being  released  from  my  duties  in  the  the- 
ological department  by  the  appointment  of 
Professor  Harris,  I  felt  the  importance  of  doing 
more  than  I  had  before  been  able  to  do  in  the 
department  of  church  history.  I  had  already 
prepared  a  course  of  lectures  on  dogmatic  history 
(the  history  of  Christian  doctrines,  institutions, 
rites).  I  had  also  prepared  a  course  of  lectures 
on  the  history  of  the  church  under  former  dis- 
pensations, including  the  Old  Testament  history 
and  the  history  of  the  dark  period  intervening 
between  the  close  of  sacred  Old  Testament  history 
and  the  coming  of  Christ.  In  teaching  church 
history  I  had,  up  to  this  time,  used  Murdock's 
Mosheim  as  a  text-book ;  not  because  I  entirely 
approved  of  it,  but  because  I  could  find  nothing 
I  liked  better.  The  modern  German  histories  are 
so  contaminated  with  a  false  philosophy  that 
I  could  not  think  of  adopting  them.  Mosheim's 
History  is  a  dull  work,  especially  in  its  chapters 
on  the  Middle  Ages.  I  had  always  found  it  dif- 
ficult to  interest  a  class  of  scholars  in  it.  At 
length  I  thought  of  doing  myself  what  I  had  long 
waited  for  some  one  to  do  for  me.  I  prepared 
a  full  course  of  lectures  on  Christian  church 


84 


A  MEMORIAL  OP 


history,  commencing  with  the  birth  of  Christ,  and 
tracing  its  history  through  to  the  present  time. 
I  began  teaching  by  lectures  in  1862.  My  method 
was  to  examine  the  class  on  each  lecture,  not 
directly  at  the  close  of  it,  but  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  following  session ;  directing  them,  in 
the  meanwhile,  to  a  general  course  of  reading  on 
the  subject.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  course  the 
whole  is  reviewed  by  the  help  of  a  prepared  list 
of  questions.  Pursued  in  this  manner,  I  have 
found  the  study  more  interesting  to  scholars,  and, 
I  think,  more  profitable  than  in  the  old  manner 
of  reciting  from  a  text-book. 

In  the  summer  of  1859,  the  chapel  and  library 
building  was  dedicated.  It  had  long  been  needed, 
and  has  proved  of  inestimable  value  to  the  institu- 
tion. Previously,  four  large  rooms  in  the  large 
building  were  used  for  chapel  purposes,  and  the 
bell,  presented  by  a  gentleman  of  Massachusetts, 
was  hung  in  a  frame  resting  on  the  ground.  The 
valuable  library  of  the  Seminary  was  kept  in 
a  wing  of  the  boarding-house,  a  wooden  structure, 
and  every  opportunity  was  offered  for  a  conflagra- 
tion. The  lower  story  of  the  chapel  was  fitted  up 
as  a  handsome  library ;  the  second  story  contained 
a  large  audience-room,  recitation-rooms,  and  a 
museum  of  curiosities  belonging  to  the  Society 
of  Inquiry  on  Missions.  The  building  cost  more 
than  §12,000,  and  was  erected  through  the  efforts 
of  the  "  Corban,"  a  society  of  ladies  in  Bangor. 
In  reporting  to  the  General  Conference  the  great 
achievement  of  the  ladies,  the  visiting  committee 


KEV.  ENOCH  FOND,  D.  D. 


85 


for  1859  say:  "God  bless  the  ladies  of  Bangor, 
who  started  this  enterprise,  and  the  ladies  of  this 
State  and  elsewhere,  who  have  helped  move  it  on. 
They  have  given  to  our  institution  '  a  local  habita- 
tion and  a  name,'  and  are  entitled  to  all  the  credit 
of  this  noble  result.  The  '  Corban  '  Society  shall 
be  held  in  loving  remembrance  wherever  Bangor 
Seminary  is  known.  '  Many  daughters  have  done 
virtuously,  but  thou  excellest.' " 

The  departments  of  instruction  in  the  Seminary 
were  now  satisfactorily  filled,  and  things  seemed 
likely  to  move  on  without  embarrassment.  I  must 
here  record,  with  gratitude  to  Him  who  holds  the 
hearts  of  all  men  in  his  hands,  the  donations  and 
legacies  of  friends  of  the  Seminary  during  the 
years  1863-G8.  A  legacy  of  810,000  was  re- 
ceived from  the  estate  of  Deacon  Jacob  Hayes, 
of  Charlestown,  Mass.,  which  was  appropriated  to 
the  professorship  of  sacred  literature.  A  legacy 
of  £3,000  was  received  from  the  estate  of  Hiram 
Fogg,  of  New  York,  accompanied  by  a  donation 
of  #10,000  from  his  brother,  William  Fogg, 
both  of  which  were  appropriated  to  the  professor- 
ship of  sacred  rhetoric.  The  sum  of  -116,000  was 
also  received  from  Richard  P.  Buck,  of  Brook- 
lyn, New  York,  which  was  appropriated  to  the 
professorship  of  theology.  In  consequence  of 
these  bequests  and  donations,  it  was  decided  that 
these  several  professorships  should  in  all  future 
time  bear  the  names  of  those  who  had  so  largely 
contributed  to  their  endowment.  From  the  late 
Hon.  Ichabod  Washburn,  of  Worcester,  Mass., 


86 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


$15,000  was  received  for  a  fund  to  help  students 
who  needed  assistance. 

The  pecuniary  condition  of  the  Seminary  was 
now  favorable.  Its  debts  were  paid,  its  endow- 
ments well  begun,  the  number  of  students  was 
increasing,  and  its  prospects  encouraging.  Other 
forms  of  trial  lay  before  us.    In  the  spring  of 

1866,  Professor  Harris  was  appointed  President 
of  Bowdoin  College,  and  concluded,  after  a  pro- 
tracted struggle,  to  go.  He  continued  his 
instructions  until  the  close  of  the  Seminary  year, 

1867,  and  then  left  for  Brunswick.  It  was  a  great 
sorrow  to  the  trustees  and  his  colleagues  to  part 
with  him ;  but  his  convictions  of  duty  were  clear, 
and  naught  remained  to  us  but  to  give  him  our 
blessing  and  let  him  go. 

Scarcely  had  we  passed  through  this  trial  when 
another  and  great  affliction  fell  on  us.  In  the 
spring  of  1868,  Professor  Shepard  died.  Of  his 
work  here,  and  of  his  death,  I  have  already 
written.  "Very  pleasant  hast  thou  been  to  me, 
my  brother !  " 

The  vacancy  occasioned  by  Professor  Harris's 
removal  was  filled  in  the  summer  of  1867.  Rev. 
John  R.  Herrick,  of  Malone,  N.  Y.,  was  elected, 
and  accepted  the  appointment,  entering  on  his 
duties  at  once.  Professor  Herrick  was  an  able  and 
excellent  man.  He  remained  with  us  six  years, 
but  the  last  two  years  was  unable  to  do  much  for 
the  Seminary.  During  one  of  these  he  was  absent 
in  Europe  and  the  East,  and  through  most  of  the 
other  he  was  confined  to  the  house  by  sickness. 
He  resigned  his  position  in  1873. 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


87 


Dr.  Ilerrick  is  now  occupying  the  laborious  and  responsi- 
ble post  of  President  of  Oregon  College. 

In  1868,  Rev.  William  M.  Barbour,  of  Peabody, 
Mass.,  was  appointed  successor  to  Professor 
Shepard  in  the  chair  of  sacred  rhetoric.  Pie 
accepted  the  appointment,  and  commenced  his 
labors  here  in  the  autumn  of  1868.  During  the 
absence  and  subsequent  illness  of  Professor  Her- 
rick, Professor  Barbour  undertook  the  care  of  the 
theological  department,  as  well  as  his  own ;  and 
when  Professor  Herrick  resigned,  was  transferred 
to  the  chair  of  theology,  and  Professor  John  S. 
Sewall,  of  Bowdoin  College,  was  elected  to  fill  the 
vacancy.  Professor  Sewall  commenced  his  duties 
as  professor  of  sacred  rhetoric,  in  the  autumn  of 
1873.  The  number  of  students  from  1835  to  1860 
was  remarkably  uniform  —  rarely  over  fifty  or 
under  forty.  In  1863,  we  had  on  our  catalogue 
the  names  of  sixty -four  students ;  the  next  year, 
fifty-nine.  Owing  partly  to  the  war,  and  partly 
to  the  lack  of  revivals  in  our  colleges  and 
churches,  the  number  in  the  Seminary  was,  for 
several  years,  diminished.  Latterly,  it  has  in- 
creased again,  and  the  rooms  are  full.  In  the 
autumn  of  1871,  having  "been  connected  with  the 
Seminary  forty  years,  and  being  in  the  eightieth 
year  of  my  age,  I  felt  called  upon  to  resign  my 
office  as  professor  of  ecclesiastical  history,  and  a 
successor  was  .appointed,  Rev.  Leonard  L.  Paine, 
of  Farmington,  Conn.  He  has  proved  himself 
an  acceptable  teacher  and  worthy  man.    I  still 


88 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


continue  my  connection  with  the  Faculty  as  pre- 
siding officer,  and  with  the  Seminary  as  "  emeritus 
professor."  I  reside  at  the  Seminary,  and  do  all 
in  my  power  to  advance  its  interests  in  every 
direction.  This  it  is  my  purpose  to  do,  so  long 
as  God  grants  me  ability  and  opportunity. 

It  may  be  thought  inappropriate,  in  an  auto- 
biography, to  incorporate  so  much  of  the  history 
of  the  Seminary;  but  I  could  not  avoid  it.  My 
life  in  Bangor  has  been  so  closely  connected  with 
it,  —  so  bound  up  in  it  and  with  it,  —  that  it  was 
impossible  to  give  an  account  of  the  former  during 
the  last  forty  years  unless  by  connecting  it  with 
the  latter. 

Eleven  years  have  elapsed  since  my  father's  resignation 
of  his  professorship,  and  his  death.  During  nine  of  these 
years  he  met  the  students  weekly  at  Monday  evening 
prayers,  and  frequently  was  present  at  the  chapel  prayer- 
meetings.  He  was  thoroughly  acquainted  with  them; 
they  came  to  him  as  to  a  father,  bringing  their  religious 
doubts,  their  social  troubles,  their  afflictions,  bodily  or 
mental,  their  pecuniary  difficulties;  and  they  always  met 
sympathy,  advice,  and  relief.  He  also  presided  during 
these  years  at  meetings  of  the  Faculty.  His  interest  in  the 
Seminary  took  practical  form  in  the  many  letters  written  to 
invite  students,  solicit  donations,  and  welcome  new  comers 
The  last  occasion  of  his  presenting  the  diplomas  to  the 
graduating  class  was  in  June,  1879. 

His  last  formal  meeting  with  the  Trustees,  Faculty,  and 
Alumni,  was  at  the  Alumni  Dinner,  in  June,  1880.  A  local 
paper  cioses  its  report  of  the  occasion  in  these  words :  — 

"  The  festivities  of  the  table  were  full  of  pathos  when  the 
venerable  President  of  the  Faculty,  Dr.  Pond,  nearly  ninety 
years  of  age,  and  connected  with  the  Seminary  since  1832, 
spoke  with  trembling,  yet  sonorous  voice,  and  flowing  tears. 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  P.  D. 


89 


With  bowed  heads  and  moistened  eyes  his  pupils  listened  to 
his  fatherly  counsels  and  tender  farewells.  He  said:  'I 
shall  do  what  1  can  so  long  as  my  life  is  spared;  but  my 
work  is  nearly  done.  I  leave  the  Seminary,  under  God,  to 
you.  Provide  for  it;  carry  it  forward  so  long  as  it  is 
needed  on  the  earth.  It  will  be  needed  for  a  very  long 
time  to  come.  Go  back  to  j  our  homes,  young  ministers, 
feeling  that  you  are  engaged  in  the  noblest  work  on  earth. 
—  the  work  of  saving  the  souls  of  your  fellow  men.  It  is 
not  probable;  that  I  shall  meet  you  here  again,  but  you  will 
still  come.  Come  up  in  the  Spirit  and  hope  of  the  Gospel. 
God  will  be  your  support  in  life  and  in  death.'  " 

Dr.  Pond  had  great  patience  with  his  pupils,  and  great 
faith  in  them.  If  some  of  them  were  without  classical 
education,  he  recalled  the  great  number  of  such  men  who 
had  adorned  the  ministry  and  the  learned  professions,  and 
he  expected  his  young  men  would  succeed ;  he  encouraged 
them  to  the  utmost.  He  scorned  the  idea  of  putting  them 
into  what  is  called  a  "  special  course,"  and  branding  them 
with  a  lower  grade,  as  an  inferior  branch  of  the  ministry. 
He  would  give  them  the  privilege  of  standing  side  by  side 
with  the  best  educated  men,  and  the  support  of  it;  he  would 
send  them  out  together  with  the  same  diplomas,  and  bid 
them  surpass  the  college-trained  men  in  power  and  useful- 
ness if  they  could.  —  S.  U.  Hayes. 

His  intercourse  with  his  students  made  him  their  trusted, 
genial,  and  beloved  friend.  If  he  erred  in  his  estimate  of 
them,  it  was  on  the  side  of  a  magnanimous  expectation. 
He  idealized  his  pupils,  and  had  large  anticipations  of 
usefulness  in  the  future  exercise  of  their  gifts.  —  Ii.  B.  T. 

From  a  memorial  address  prepared  by  Dr.  Samuel  Harris. 
I  extract  this  sketch  of  Dr.  Pond's  theology  and  his  stand- 
ing as  a  scholar  :  — 

Dr.  Pond  was  a  representative  of  the  New  England 
theology  on  its  conservative  side.    The  New  England 


90 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


theology  is  doubtless  open  to  criticism  as  in  some 
respects  superficial  and  inadequate.  It  has  seemingly 
assumed  that  by  precise,  definite,  and  satisfactory 
formulas  it  had  closed  the  whole  circuit  of  thought  on 
the  subjects  treated,  and  by  its  nice  distinctions  bad 
removed  all  occasion  for  doubt  and  difficulty,  while  pro- 
founder  thought  sees  that  its  formulas  lack  compre- 
hensiveness, and  its  explanations  do  not  explain ;  by  its 
disproportionate  insistence  on  individualism,  by  its 
ethical  theory  of  greatest  happiness  and  general  benev- 
olence, by  its  theory  of  atonement  as  an  expedient  of 
statecraft  to  prevent  men  from  despising  the  law 
because  sin  is  forgiven,  it  has  seemed  to  overlook  the 
solidarity  of  mankind,  and  the  reach  and  power  of  sin; 
to  miss  the  essential  idea  of  law  and  righteousness,  and 
to  lead  to  the  inference  that  the  significance  of  the 
humiliation  of  the  Son  of  God  in  Christ,  and  of  Christ's 
obedience,  suffering,  and  death,  instead  of  being  mani- 
fold as  the  Scriptures  represent  it,  is  exhausted  in  its 
moral  influence  on  men  to  induce  them  to  return  to  God. 
But,  whatever  the  imputations  of  the  "New  England 
theology,"  it  has  at  least  made  a  great  and  abiding  con- 
tribution to  the  progress  of  theological  knowledge. 
It  has  set  forth  in  clear  light  the  personality  of  the 
individual  as  distinguished  from,  and  not  submerged  in, 
the  race  or  in  the  organization  of  church  or  State,  and 
therein  has  set  forth  the  worth  of  a  man  and  the  sacred- 
ness  of  his  rights;  and  this  is  a  truth  which  was 
emphasized  by  Christ  and  his  Apostles,  and  lias  made 
Christianity  a  power  in  advancing  the  political  and  social 
rights  and  freedom  of  man.  The  New  England  the- 
ology, in  setting  forth  the  personality  of  the  individual, 
has  asserted  and  vindicated  the  freedom  of  the  will ;  has 
shown  the  true  idea  of  sin  as  the  determination  or 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  1).  ]>. 


91 


choice  of  the*  free  will  in  transgressing  God's  law  and 
refusing  his  redeeming  grace;  has  cleared  the  fact  and 
nature  of  human  responsibility;  has  thrown  light  on 
the  scriptural  doctrine  of  regeneration  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  rescued  it  from  misrepresentation,  and  has 
made  consistent  and  possible  that  type  of  preaching 
which  declares  that  'whosoever  will,  may  take  the  water 
of  life  freely/'  and  which  demonstrates  to  every  man's 
conscience  his  sinfulness  and  guilt  in  not  accepting 
Christ  as  he  is  fully  offered  in  the  Gospel.  These  great 
truths  Dr.  Pond  emphasized  in  his  theological  teaching 
in  his  classroom  and  in  his  preaching. 

It  has  been  said  that  Dr.  Pond  was  not  a  man  of  thor- 
ough scholarship.  I  would  not  claim  for  him  aught 
which  was  not  his.  One  man  cannot  he  everything. 
"Non  omnes  possunius  omnia."  His  just  reputation  is 
so  high  there  is  no  need  to  enhance  it  by  attributing  to 
him  what  he  had  not.  His  undeniable  virtues,  powers, 
and  resources  must  command  admiration  and  esteem. 
Let  us  try  to  form  a  just  estimate  of  him  in  this  particu- 
lar. His  positive  and  intractable  antagonism  to  all 
German  philosophy  and  criticism  is  well  known.  But 
in  estimating  this,  we  must  remember  he  was  born  nearly 
one  hundred  years  ago.  When  he  was  receiving  his 
education  few  Americans  knew  any  modern  language 
than  their  own.  To  Professor  Henry  W.  Longfellow, 
who  in  1829  became  professor  of  modern  languages  in 
Bowdoin  College  (of  which  he  was  a  graduate),  more 
perhaps  than  to  anyone  man,  we  owe  the  change  in  the 
American  idea  of  education,  whereby  it  has  come  to  pass 
that  acquaintance  with  one  or  more  of  these  languages 
and  literatures  is  deemed  essential  to  scholarship,  and 
has  become  common  among  cultivated  people.  But  Dr. 
Pond  was  in  mature  life   before   this   change  had 


92 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


developed  itself.  During  his  long  life  the  standard 
of  scholarship  changed;  the  very  conception  of  what 
constitutes  a  scholar  was  different  in  the  later  years 
of  his  life  from  what  had  heen  when  he  was  receiving 
his  education.  He  was  a  man  of  extensive  reading. 
He  was  a  scholar  in  the  sense  in  which  President 
Edwards,  Dr.  Emmons,  Dr.  Leonard  Woods,  and  other 
leaders  of  theological  thought  in  New  England  in  the 
last  century  and  the  heginning  of  the  present,  were 
scholars.  He  belonged  to  that  earlier  period,  anil  his 
scholarship  must  be  judged  by  its  standard  and  not 
by  that  of  the  present  time.  The  fact  must  also  be  con- 
sidered that  in  his  earlier  years  the  predominant 
influences  from  German  philosophy  and  criticism  were 
pantheistic,  rationalistic,  or  sceptical.  The  general 
feeling  was  that  familiarity  with  German  theological 
and  philosophical  studies  was  dangerous  to  Christian 
faith.  Professor  Stuart  never  entirely  outlived  the 
fears  and  suspicions  of  the  influence  of  his  German 
reading.  When  I  was  a  student  at  Andover,  I  remem- 
ber the  profound  impression  produced  one  day.  when 
Professor  B.  B.  Edwards  before  the  assembled  school 
announced  the  publication  of  Strauss's  "Life  of  Jesus," 
and  described  it  as  the  most  powerful  assault  that  had 
been  made  on  Christianity  in  recent  times,  and  told  us 
of  the  anxiety  and  alarm  which  its  publication  had 
caused.  But  since  then  Strauss's  theory  of  the  New 
Testament  has  been  abandoned  as  inadequate  by  crit- 
ical scholars  and  by  its  author  himself.  Then  came  the 
Tubingen  school,  explaining  the  New  Testament  as  the 
product  of  factions  in  the  churches,  interpreting  the 
'•'enemy"  who  sowed  tares,  in  the  parable  recorded 
by  Matthew,  as  being  the  Apostle  Paul,  the  Gospel  of 
Matthew  being  written  in  the  interest  of  the  Apostle 


&EV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.D. 


93 


Peter.  Next  came  Renan's  "Life  of  Jesus,"  explaining 
the  story  partly  by  imposture  and  pious  fraud,  and 
partly  by  fanaticism  and  self-illusion.  Thus  the  whole 
process  of  destructive  criticism  is  a  sort  of  reduction 
to  absurdity  of  all  infidel  attempts  to  explain  the 
acknowledged  facts  of  the  New  Testament  without 
recognizing  the  supernatural  Christ.  We  now  look  with 
composure  on  all  the  attempts  of  rationalism  and  crit- 
icism to  destroy  Christianity,  and  welcome  all  the 
results  of  philosophical  and  critical  knowledge  which 
enlarge,  correct,  clarify,  or  confirm  our  knowledge  of  the 
truth.  But  it  was  not  so  easy  fifty  years  ago.  For 
Dr.  Pond  he  it  said  that  he  never  doubted  the  Gospel 
of  Christ,  nor  feared  that  it  would  he  overthrown. 
And  I  submit  that  a  theological  teacher  whose  inward 
spiritual  life  compels  him  to  believe  the  Gospel  and  to 
rejoice  in  the  truth,  is  a  better,  wiser,  and  truer  teacher 
than  one  who  fears  for  the  truth,  but  does  not  rejoice 
and  be  strong  in  it;  who  fears  lest  every  new  assault 
will  sweep  the  kingdom  of  Christ  from  the  earth,  and 
whose  teaching  is  a  perpetual  apologizing  for  Christ  and 
Christianity,  as  if  the  reality  and  right  to  be  were  sub- 
mitted to  the  decision,  and  depended  on  the  acceptance, 
of  the  young  men  who  hear  him.  A  man  who  is  to 
teach  theology  must  know  in  whom  he  has  believed. 

Another  point  must  be  noticed.  Not  only  had  the 
standard  of  scholarship  changed  in  Dr.  Pond's  late 
years,  not  only  had  questions  and  objections  been 
answered  which  once  seemed  formidable,  but  new  ques- 
tions had  arisen ;  questions  and  objections  springing 
from  new  theories  of  physical  science,  from  bold 
assumptions  respecting  human  knowledge,  and  from 
philosophical  speculations  iinfainiliar  to  the  English 
mind  and  unadapted  to  English  habits  of  thought. 


94 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  a  man  already  entering 
on  old  age  should  enter  profoundly  on  these  subjects. 
Especially,  it  was  not  to  be  expected  of  Dr.  Pond ;  for 
he  was  one  of  those  happy  persons  whose  spontaneous 
belief,  founded  on  spiritual  need  and  spiritual  ex- 
2>erienee,  was  always  fresh,  always  a  sunshine  strong 
enough  to  burn  away  the  mists  of  doubt;  and  he 
imperfectly  understood  the  great  fight  of  afflicting 
doubts  and  perplexities  with  which  many  struggle. 
In  his  mental  constitution  he  was  practical  rather 
than  speculative ;  his  thinking  was  on  the  practical  side 
of  things,  and  he  was  not  given  to  philosophical  ques- 
tioning as  to  their  rationale.  But  his  thinking,  in  its 
own  sphere,  was  not  the  less  vigorous,  his  insight  not 
the  less  penetrating,  than  it  would  have  been  had  he 
studied  things  more  naturally  on  their  speculative 
side. 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


95 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


MINISTERIAL  LABORS  WHILE  IN  BANGOR. 


IV/TY  labors  in  connection  with  the  Theological 
*~ Seminary,  though  urgent  and  incessant, 
have  not  engrossed  my  whole  attention  during  the 
year  spent  in  Bangor.    Two  years  after  my  arrival 


—  Hammond  Street  Church. 

I  assisted  in  its  organization  and,  in  a  month 
after,  my  wife  and  myself  connected  ourselves 
with  it.  It  was  for  some  time  without  a  pastor ; 
and,  with  Professor  Bond,  I  supplied  the  pulpit, 
attended  religious  meetings,  and  performed  much 
pastoral  work.  It  was  a  season  of  refreshing  at 
that  time,  and  numbers  were  added  to  the  church. 
Our  first  pastor  was  Rev.  John  Maltby,  my  brother- 
in-law,  who  removed  from  Sutton,  Mass.  During 
frequent  illnesses  and  absence  from  the  pulpit,  I 
have  preached  to  this  beloved  church  hundreds  of 
times.  I  have  always  made  it  a  point  to  attend 
the  religious  meetings  of  the  week,  and  to  take  a 
part  in  them.  I  continued  this  habit  until  within 
a  few  years,  as  long  as  I  was  able.  In  this  way  I 
have  found  much  enjoyment  and  spiritual  profit, 
and  hope  I  have  been  the  means  of  doing  good. 
Nor  have  my  labors  been  confined  to  Hammond 
Street  Church.    In  other  churches  in  Bangor  I 


a 


Second  Congregational  Church 


was  organized 


96 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


was  often  called  to  labor.  In  several  instances, 
when  Dr.  Poniroy  was  sent  out  to  collect  mone}r 
for  the  Seminary,  I  have  taken  charge  of  his  pul- 
pit. In  the  two  Baptist  churches  in  this  city,  I 
have  been  called  upon  to  preach  occasionally,  and 
welcomed  to  their  pulpits;  and  my  labors  as  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel  have  extended  into  every 
department  and  to  every  denomination. 

It  has  been  said  of  me  that  I  had  a  very  hard 
theology,  but  were  I  gatekeeper  at  the  court  of 
heaven  I  should  not  be  able  to  refuse  admittance 
to  any  one.  Perhaps  it  is  all  true.  I  have 
preached  much,  not  only  in  Bangor,  but  in  the 
neighboring  towns,  and  in  some  of  them  statedly 
for  months,  until  their  neglected  Christian  com- 
munities acquired  strength  and  numbers,  when  I 
assisted  in  forming  them  into  churches  and  sup- 
plying ministers  for  them.  In  other  instances  I 
think  I  have  been  instrumental  in  harmonizing 
divided  churches  and  reconciling  individual  mem- 
bers, who  were  quarreling  with  each  other  and 
bringing  trouble  into  their  churches 'and  injury 
and  disgrace  upon  the  Christian  name.  Many 
instances  I  might  mention,  but  fear  I  might  be 
thought  personal.  In  some  cases  I  labored  sepa 
rately  with  opposed  parties,  conversing  with  them, 
and  persuading  them  to  peace.  In  a  town  but 
eight  miles  from  Bangor  I  had  a  meeting  with  a 
church,  which  was  long  divided  as  to  discipline 
toward  two  members,  a  man  and  his  wife,  offend- 
ing members.  I  continued  with  them  one  evening 
as  long  as  Paul  continued  his  preaching  at  Troas 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


97 


(Acts  xx,  7),  but  with  no  similar  results,  for  the 
division  was  healed  and  peace  restored.  Nor  were 
such  services  -wholly  uncalled  for  by  the  neces- 
sities of  the  church  to  which  I  belonged.  The 
charity  which  "  suffers  long  and  is  kind "  some- 
times failed  there  and  bitter  roots  springing  up 
troubled  us.  I  think  I  have  generally  succeeded 
as  peacemaker  at  such  times,  and  have  brought 
about  honorable  and  Christian  adjustments. 

At  one  time  a  disappointed  man  was  seeking  sympathy 
from  my  father  in  view  of  a  want  of  appreciation  of  labor 
done  for  others.  Father  said,  we  must  all  be  willing  to  do 
a  great  deal  of  unappreciated  labor;  and  in  that  connection 
spoke  of  his  having  done  much  among  the  churches,  which 
resulted  in  good:  yet  in  the  event,  his  share  of  the  work 
was  overlooked  and  unappreciated.  This  was  said  not  in 
the  way  of  complaint,  but  as  proof  of  the  statement  lie  had 
made.  In  strong  Saxon,  father  expressed  the  same  thought, 
when  a  man  who  had  spoken  abusively  of  him,  came  on 
Saturday  night  to  solicit  a  gratuitous  sermon  for  his 
church,  on  the  morrow:  "for  this  work  we  must  expect 
more  lacks  than  coppers.''' 

My  father's  introduction  to  the  churches  in  Maine  was  at 
the  meeting  of  the  General  Conference  of  Congregational 
Churches,  held  in  Wiscasset,  in  June,  1832.  a  few  weeks 
after  coming  to  Bangor.  He  went  by  private  carriage  in 
company  with  Dr.  Poinroy,  pastor  of  the  First  Congre- 
gational Church,  of  Bangor.  The  route  was  on  the  West 
shore  of  Penobscot  River  and  Bay,  througli  Belfast, 
Camden,  and  Thomaston.  a  hilly  but  most  picturesque  road, 
and  full  of  interest  to  the  new  comer.  At  Wiscasset  he 
met  a  noble  band  of  ministers.  Maine  has  never  since 
boasted  a  grander  company  of  ministers  than  then  filled 
her  Congregational  pulpits,  and  presided  over  her  halls  of 
learning. 


98 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


Rev.  Seneca  White  was  pastor  of  the  rhnrch  in  Wiscasset 
at  that  time. 

Then  Dr.  Pond  first  met  "  Father  Jotham  Sewall,  great- 
hearted  Christian  and  self-made  man;  Rev.  •  Stephen 
Thurston,  of  Searsport,  who  just  lingers  on  the  threshold 
of  life;  Dr.  George  E.  Adams  filling  the  important  post  of 
pastor  of  the  church  in  Brunswick,  and  preacher  to  the 
college;  Rev.  Benjamin  Tappan,  courtly  in  manner, 
sonorous  in  voice,  childlike  in  heart ;  Rev.  George  Shepard, 
of  Ilallowell,  a  brother  beloved;  Rev.  David  Thurston, 
of  Winthrop,  venerable  then ;  Rev.  David  Shepley,  of 
Yarmouth ;  Rev.  Richard  Woodhull,  of  Thomaston ;  Rev. 
J.  Peet,  of  Norridgcwock ;  Dr.  William  Dwight,  of 
Portland;  Dr.  Ellingvvood,  of  Bath;  Rev.  Carlton  Kurd, 
of  Fryeburg;  Rev.  Asa  Cummings,  of  Portland,  for 
many  years  editor  of  the  '  Christian  Mirror.'  " 

The  fathers  !  'where  are  they?  Every  name  of  them  but 
one  must  be  starred. 

At  this  conference,  sermons  were  preached  by  Drs. 
Dwight  and  Tyler,  of  Portland;  Rev.  R.  S.  Storrs,  of 
Braintree,  Mass.,  and  Dr.  Tappan. 

Favorable  resolutions  wen;  passed  regarding  the  temper- 
ance reform  and  the  Education  Society.  Days  of  fasting 
and  prayer:  July  12,  recommended  in  view  of  the  invasion 
of  the  cholera  on  our  coasts;  and  the  first  Monday  in 
January,  for  the  conversion  of  the  world.  The  favorable 
resolutions  with  regard  to  Bangor  Theological  Seminary 
were  of  special  interest  and  encouragement  to  Dr.  Pond. 

Dr.  Fond  was  a  trustee  of  the  Maine  Missionary  Society, 
from  1847  to  1880.  He  was  on  terms  of  intimate  friendship 
with  the  secretaries  of  this  Society,  Dr.  Tappan,  Dr. 
Thurston,  Rev.  Mr.  Adams,  anil  fully  understood  the  work 
of  the  Society.  He  carried  on  a  frerpient  correspondence 
with  its  secretaries,  on  the  affairs  of  the  Society,  and,  as 
they  believed,  rendered  them  efficient  help  by  his  counsels. 
Of  this  branch  of  Christian  work  he  says  :  — 


i;kv.  knocii  pond,  i>.  i>. 


99 


I  became,  through  this  Society  and  my  personal 
relations  with  Maine  ministers,  many  of  whom  are 
graduates  of  the  Seminary,  pretty  well  acquainted 
with  the  religious  wants  of  Maine,  and  with  the 
feeble  churches ;  also  with  the  sincerity  and  Christian 
charity  of  the  larger  and  more  wealthy  churches  of 
the  State.  I  know  something  of  the  devotion  of 
Maine  home  missionaries,  and  of  the  sacrifices 
made  to  obtain  and  promote  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel.  Maine  is  a  noble  State,  worth  laboring  for. 
Her  Christians  are  noble  Christians.  Her  missionaries 
are  doing  harder  work  and  suffering  greater  privations 
than  many  who  labor  in  foreign  fields.  Unknown  to 
fame,  and  without  the  supporting  sympathy  of  the 
church  at  large,  these  ministers  and  their  families  are 
wearing  out  their  lives  for  the  Gospel.  God  bless  them  ! 
and  bring  them  more  into  our  prayers  and  thoughts. 

At  the  time  of  my  coming  to  Bangor,  and  for 
a  good  many  years  after,  "four-days  meetings," 
somewhat  like  the^'  fellowship  meetings"  home 
missionaries  are  now  holding  in  the  Western 
districtSj^and  which  are  doing  so  much  good,  were 
frequent  among  the  churches  of  the  State.  I  have 
often  had  the  privilege  of  laboring  in  them,  and 
in  protracted  meetings  and  revivals  of  religion, 
when  m)-  Seminary  duties  allowed. 

Our  students  were  sometimes  sent  out  to  labor 
in  such  seasons,  when  the  Holy  Spirit  was  Teacher 
and  the  work  of  an  evangelist  and  pastor  was 
opened  to  them.  Such  teaching  and  experience 
were  invaluable  to  them  as  they  stood  at  the 
threshold  of  a  life-work  in  the  ministry.    I  pro- 


100 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


pared  a  series  of  sermons  to  be  preached  at  pro- 
tracted meetings  and  in  times  of  revival,  present- 
ing, in  close  connection  and  as  persuasively  as 
possible,  the  doctrines  of  grace.  In  years  gone 
by,  I  was  frequently  called  to  assist  my  good 
brother,  Dr.  Benjamin  Tappan,  of  Augusta,  in 
times  of  religious  revival.  Very  precious  seasons 
have  we  enjoyed  together  in  this  work,  and  we 
shall  love  to  review  them  and  trace  their  influence, 
when  we  meet  in  heaven. 

Dr.  Tappan.  of  Norridgewoek,  referring  to  these  seasons, 
writes:  '-As  to  revival  sermons,  I  never  heard  any  that 
seemed  better  adapted  to  their  purpose  than  Dr.  Pond's. 
At  Brunswick.  I  heard  him  preach  the  sermon  on  the  text, 
'  I  thought  upon  my  ways  and  turned  my  feet  unto  thy 
testimonies,"  since  published  in  a  tract  nam  d  'Think  and 
Turn.'  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  very  interesting 
conversions  in  Brunswick,  in  the  revival  of  1S34,  were 
largly  owing  to  Dr.  Ponds  lucid  and  persuasive,  as  well  II 
deeply  solemn,  preaching  of  the  Gospel  in  public,  and  his 
skilful  dealing  with  inquirers  in  private.  I  saw  him 
frequently  about  that  time,  at  my  father's,  in  Augusta. 
I  rode  with  him  from  Augusta  to  Brunswick.  I  was  quite 
charmed  with  his  affable  and  instructive  conversation,  and 
impressed  with  his  wide  range  of  knowledge  and  his 
evident  mental  activity.  I  still  think  there  are  a  few  more 
genial  and  entertaining  than  he  was  in  private  intercourse; 
few  theological  teachers  of  more  real  goodness  and 
fraternal  interest  in  the  young  men  committed  to  their 
charge.  I  need  not  say  how  highly  my  father  esteemed 
him ;  how  much  he  enjoyed  his  society,  and  how  glad  he 
was  of  his  assistance  in  times  of  religious  interest,  while 
pastor  of  the  church  in  Augusta;  how  gladly  he  availed 
himself   of  his   counsel,  when  secretary  of   the  Maine 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


101 


Missionary  Society.  Maine  has  few  truer  friends  than  Dr. 
Pond  lias  been." 

I  remember  a  meeting  of  great  interest  I 
attended  with  Brother  Adams  at  Waterville  ;  and 
another,  when  I  assisted  Brother  McKeen  at 
Belfast.  A  protracted  meeting  in  Hampden  was 
the  means  of  bringing  out  a  number  who  after- 
ward became  pillars  in  that  church.  We  have 
been  greatly  blessed  in  our  churches  in  Bangor  in 
past  years.  The  revivals  of  1840  added  to  Ham- 
mond Street  Church  about  fort}r-five  members  by 
profession.  Another  general  revival  occurred  in 
1852,  in  which  the  Sabbath  School  was  greatly 
blessed,  and  many  of  the  children  of  the  church 
were  gathered  in,  who  have  since  proved  by  a  holy 
Christian  profession  and  good  service  for  God  the 
sincerity  of  their  conversion.  I  think  some  fifty 
members  came  into  our  church  in  that  year,  as 
fruits  of  that  revival.  The  most  general  revival 
of  religion  which  Ave  have  ever  witnessed  in 
Bangor  occurred  in  1857.  This  was  characterized 
not  so  much  by  the  results  of  preaching,  as  of 
prayer-meetings  and  personal  Christian  work. 
Union  morning  prayer-meetings  commenced  in 
the  large  vestry  of  the  Columbia  Street  Baptist 
Church,  and  continued  from  eight  till  nine  o'clock 
A.  M.  The  room  was  crowded  every  morning; 
and  two  other  like  meetings  were  opened  in  other 
parts  of  the  city,  —  all  filled  with  warm-hearted 
Christians  and  earnest  seekers  after  God.  I 
attended  their  meetings  constantly  for  over  three 
months,  and  had  the  privilege  of  laboring  in  them. 


102 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


Several  hundred  persons  were  hopefully  converted, 
some  of  whom  had  previously  been  openly  neglect- 
ful of  all  religious  principles.  The  churches  were 
all  increased  and  strengthened,  and  for  a  time 
"there  was  great  joy  in  this  city." 

When  I  first  came  into  the  State,  I  was  per- 
mitted to  engage  in  one  of  the  most  powerful 
revivals  I  ever  experienced.  It  was  in  1834,  in 
Brunswick,  in  the  spring  of  the  year.  I  preached 
there  in  connection  with  the  pastor,  Rev.  George  E. 
Adams,  Dr.  Tappan,  of  Augusta,  and  the  clergy- 
men of  the  college  faculty.  It  was  during  this 
protracted  meeting,  at  the  time  when  Mr.  Charles 
Packard,  Governor  Dunlap,  and  other  influential 
men  of  Brunswick,  and  a  number  of  college 
students,  were  converted,  who  afterward  became 
members  of  our  Seminary  and  went  into  the 
ministry,  that  a  remarkable  spirit  of  prayer  was 
manifested,  and  God  gave  special  evidences  of  his 
power  in  answer  to  prayer. 

Dr.  Hamlin,  of  Middlebury  College,  referring  to  this 
revival  which  occurred  while  he  was  in  college,  thus  relates 
his  recollections  of  some  of  its  scenes  :  — 

"  This  revival  commenced  in  the  increased  interest  in  the 
'  praying  circle 'in  Bowdoin  College.  From  being  small 
in  numbers  and  cold  in  spirit,  it  rose  to  large  numbers  and 
earnest  zeal,  so  that  it  filled  a  large  double  hall  where  it 
was  held,  and  nearly  all  the  students  were  present  at  it. 
As  we  went  out  at  the  close  of  an  early  evening  meeting. 
Professor  Longfellow  passed  by  on  the  street.  lie  paused, 
and  asked :  k  What  does  this  mean  *? '  I  told  him  it  was  a 
gathering  of  the  students  for  prayer,  that  had  just  closed 
its  services,    lie  seemed  filled  with  surprise. 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


103 


"  I  can  never  forget  Dr.  Tappan's  remarkable  prayers  in 
these  revival  meetings.  On  the  evening  referred  to  above, 
I  was  late  at  the  service  in  the  church.  The  large  audience- 
room  was  full.  I  passed  into  a  pew  in  the  side  aisle,  not 
very  far  up.  Dr.  Tappan  had  just  begun  to  pray  with  the 
fervor  and  unction  we  all  remember.  All  stood  in  prayer : 
just  before  me  across  the  aisle  rose  the  large  erect  figure  of 
Governor  Dunlap.  What  on  earth  is  he  here  for  *?  was  my 
thought.  Only  to  mock  and  ridicule,  or  from  a  cariosity  to 
see  how  things  go  on.  Soon  Dr.  Tappan  b<  gan  to  pray  for 
'our  Chief  Magistrate,  now  in  the  Divine  Presence,"  with 
great  earnestness,  as  though  he  would  move  earth  and 
heaven  in  his  behalf.  lie  prayed  that  he  might  have  a  view 
of  the  sinfulness  of  his  own  heart ;  that  he  might  be  afraid 
before  God;  that  he  might  be  wholly  humbled  before  his 
Maker:  that  eternal  things  might  become  so  real  to  him, 
that,  compared  with  a  life  of  ease,  power,  and  fame,  irithout 
God,  he  might  heartily  choose  poverty,  scorn,  the  loss  of  all 
things,  with  God,  with  his  favor  and  his  peace.  Dr.  Tappan 
continued  with  such  earnest  and  personal  petitions,  that  I 
could  only  think:  How  mad  the  Governor  will  be!  How 
mistaken  is  the  zeal  of  the  good  Doctor  to  break  up, 
perhaps,  the  revival  by  hurling  such  a  firebrand  against  our 
proud,  unbelieving  democratic  Governor!  But  the  prayer 
ended.  Your  father  preached.  The  arrow  of  Divine  truth 
•was  forced  home  to  many  hearts.  At  the  early  prayer- 
meeting,  a  brother  gave  thanks  that 1  our  Governor  had 
passed  a  sleepless  night  of  conviction.'  He  soon  came 
out  boldly  on  the  Lord's  side.  Dr.  Tappan's  prayer  was 
answered." 

My  connection  with  the  theological  students  has 
made  nie  an  eye-witness  to  the  importance  and 
value  of  the  American  Education  Society.  I  was 
made  vice-president  of  the  Maine  branch  of  this 
Society  in  1843,  and  I  continued  in  that  office 


104 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


until  I  was  made  president  of  it  in  1868.  I  am 
now  one  of  the  few  remaining  who  remember  the 
origin  of  this  Society  and  the  venerable  men  by 
whom  it  was  instituted.  I  know  the  motives  of 
.  these  men  and  the  deep  sense  of  church  necessity 
by  which  they  were  actuated.  They  could  not  go 
forward  with  their  projected  plans  for  the  enlarge- 
ment of  Zion,  in  this  and  other  lands,  without  such 
an  organization.  The  Society  is  fundamental  and 
most  important,  though,  like  all  foundation-work, 
it  is  most  unseen.  For  forty-five  years  I  have 
been  in  a  situation  to  watch  its  operations.  I 
have  distributed  over  fifty  thousand  dollars  of  its 
funds  in  these  years;  a  very  small  per  cent,  may 
have  been  misapplied  or  misused.  1  cannot  agree 
with  those  who  discredit  its  importance.  How 
many  useful  and  highly  honored  ministers  in  the 
home  and  foreign  fields  have  been  fitted  for  their 
work  through  the  agency  of  this  Society,  who 
might  otherwise  be  yet  following  the  plow, 
handling  the  spade,  or  working  at  a  trade ;  use- 
ful Christians,  truly,  but  with  the  talent  yielding 
but  fivefold,  when  now  it  yields  a  hundred-fold. 
God  bless  the  Education  Society  ! 

Rev.  William  Jackson,  d.  d.,  of  Dorset,  Vermont,  origi- 
nated and  set  in  operation  the  first  Education  Society,  in  1S03, 
for  replenishing  the  ministiy.  It  was  called  "The  Evan- 
gelical Society  for  aiding  needy  and  pious  young  men  in 
acquiring  education  for  the  Gospel  ministry."  This  Society 
continued  its  efforts  till  the  formation  of  the  American 
Education  Society  and  its  auxiliaries;  and  more  than  fifty 
young  men  were  aided  by  it  in  preparing  for  the  ministiy. 
The  American  Education  Society  was  organized,  in  Boston, 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


105 


in  181").  The  Maine  branch  of  this  Society  was  formed,  in 
Portland,  in  1818. 

My  father's  interest  in  the  work  of  foreign  missions 
commenced  soon  after  his  conversion  and  was  unflagging 
till  the  end  of  li  e.  liis  profession  of  religion  was  made 
hut  a  few  weeks  before  the  departure  of  the  first  band  of 
missionaries,  sent  out  as  the  first  fruits  of  the  American 
Board  of  Missions,  in  1S12.  He  soon  after  records,  in  an 
early  letter;  "  1  seem  to  hear  the  voices  of  perishing  heathen 
calling  to  me."  Among  the  books  of  his  library  given  to 
the  Pacific  Seminary  was  a  complete  set  of  the  "  Missionary 
Herald. "  from  the  "  Panoplist,"  its  first  form.inlSOS.  to  the 
last  number  of  the  "  Missionary  Herald,"'  January,  1SS2. 
These  have  all  been  read  and  prayed  over,  and  bound  for 
preservation,  up  to  the  year  1SS0.  Very  early  in  my 
father's  pastorale  in  "Ward,  he  instkuted  the  monthly  concert 
of  prayer  for  the  conversion  of  the  world;  and  to  meet  the 
wants  of  the  time,  and  the  lack  of  missionary  intelligence, 
he  prepared  lectures  on  missionary  topics. 

He  kept  this  branch  cf  Christian  work  before  the  minds 
of  his  pupils.  He  often  charged  them,  wherever  they 
might  labor,  "to  love  the  cause  of  missions,  and  earnestly 
endeavor  with  the  least  possible  delay  to  spread  the  Gospel 
throughout  the  world.*'  With  those  who  have  gone  from 
the  Seminary  to  the  foreign  work,  he  has  maintained  corre- 
spondence, and  followed  with  his  thoughts  and  prayers. 
News  from  mission  fields  always  interested  him.  Since  he 
reached  his  eighty-fifth  year,  the  labors  of  Livingstons,  the 
discoveries  of  Stanley,  the  reports  from  the  new  African 
missions,  were  read  with  enthusiasm,  anticipating  the  day 
when  the  "  Dark  Continent  "  should  be  opened  to  Christian 
laborers,  bringing  the  Light  of  the  World,  and  when  slavery 
and  oppression  should  cease  in  all  its  borders.  Dr.  Pond 
was  a  corporate  member  of  the  American  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  from  1832  to  1879.  For  years  our  father 
closed  his  evening  family-prayer  with  the  words,  so  familiar 
to  many :  — 


106 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


"  Remember  a  world  lying  in  wickedness,  and  hasten 
the  day  of  its  complete  redemption.  Thou  hast 
promised,  0  God !  that  thy  Son  shall  have  the  heathen 
for  his  inheritance,  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for 
his  possession  !  0,  remember  these  words  of  promise, 
on  which  Thou  hast  caused  us  to  hope ;  and  hasten  on 
the  happy  time  when  they  shall  be  gloriously  fulfilled; 
when  '  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  shall  cover  the  earth 
as  the  waters  fill  the  channels  of  the  deep  ! '  " 

Dr.  Pond*s  interest  was  early  awakened  in  the  cause  of 
temperance;  earlier  than  the  formation  of  temperance 
societies.  In  his  youth,  and  for  some  years  after  he  was 
settled  as  a  minister,  intoxicating  drinks  were  considered 
as  necessary;  nourishing  and  strengthening  when  not  taken 
in  excess.  Neither  weddings  nor  funerals  were  considered 
successful  without  the  punchbowl  and  toddy-stick.  The 
supply  of  these  drinks  in  the  cellar  was  considered  a  neces- 
sary part  of  the  yearly  domestic  outfit,  and  everybody 
drank  cider,  wine,  gin,  and  brandy,  or  New  England  rum. 
This  habit  produced  a  vast  amount  of  drunkenness.  In 
that  country  town  in  Massachusetts,  where  Dr.  Pond's  first 
and  only  settlement  was,  cases  of  hopeless  drunkenness 
were  frequent.  Heads  of  families,  sons,  brothers,  and 
children  were  dropping  into  drunkard's  graves.  When 
ministers  of  the  Gospel  met  in  associations  and  ecclesias- 
tical councils,  the  large  tray,  covered  with  decanters  and 
rattling  glasses,  was  invariably  produced.  Dr.  Pond  used 
to  tell  a  story  of  his  entertainment  at  the  house  of  a 
neighboring  minister,  on  an  exchange.  He  was  put  into 
Madam's  best  room,  and  the  door  was  closed  ;  here  he 
spent  his  time  while  out  of  the  church,  the  door  opening  at 
intervals,  when  Madam  looked  in  to  ask:  "Have  some 
rum  ?  "  After  he  had  declined  the  offer  the  third  time  with 
thanks,  she  urged  it  no  more. 

From  a  "  Bangor  Courier,"  of  1839,  I  copy  some  remarks 


REV.  ENOCH  I'OND,  D.  I). 


107 


on  the  license  system  then  existing  in  Maine,  showing  that 
my  father  anticipated  the  passage  of  the  "  prohibitory 
law."  He  makes  the  report  of  a  committee  of  the  Bangor 
Temperance  Union,  disclaiming  for  that  Society,  formed 
for  promotion  of  temperance  principles  by  moral  means  only, 
any  light  or  intention  to  interfere  in  the  execution  of  laws, 
referring  this  matter  wholly  to  the  civil  magistrate,  to 
whom  it  officially  belongs.  He  proceeds  to  state  his  views 
of  the  existing  laws;  the  moral  support  they  should  have 
from  the  pulpit,  the  press,  and  public  opinion ;  the  duty  of 
the  magistrate  to  execute  them,  having  bound  himself  by 
his  oath  of  office  to  that  effect. 

His  views  of  the  license  system  may  be  given  in  his  own 
words :  — 

Our  laws  provide  that  certain  persons,  under  certain 
restrictions,  should  be  licensed  to  sell  ardent  spirits. 
This  law  conferring  the  licensing  power  I  consider  as 
wrong  in  principle  and  ruinous  in  tendency,  and  the 
friends  of  temperance  should  not  cease  to  show  up  its 
absurdities  and  urge  its  repeal. 

These  licensing  laws  proceed  on  the  principle  that 
ardent  spirit,  used  in  moderate  quantities,  is  healthful 
to  the  human  system ;  that  it  does  a  man  good. 
Nothing  can  he  more  certain  than  the  fact  that,  taken 
as  a  beverage,  it  is  always  hurtful.  It  contains  no 
nourishment,  and  of  course  can  convey  none.  It  can 
only  produce  a  momentary  excitement,  to  he  followed 
by  consequent  lassitude  and  prostration.  Ardent  spirit 
is  now  known  to  contain  active  poison,  in  respect  to 
which  the  only  true  temperance  is  total  abstinence. 
The  licensing  laws  being  thus  based  upon  a  false  prin- 
ciple,—  in  a  mistaken  view  of  the  nature  of  the  article 
of  which  they  treat,  —  it  is  not  strange  that  they  have 
done  no  good,  that  their  tendency  and  effects  have  been 
almost  wholly  evil.    It  is  sometimes  objected  to  new 


108 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


attempts  at  legislation  on  the  subject  of  intoxicating 
drink,  that  past  legislation  has  been  so  little  efficacious ; 
but  does  it  follow  that  because  legislation  on  a  false 
principle  has  done  no  good,  legislation  on  a  true  basis 
can  accomplish  none ;  because  licensing  the  trade  in 
such  liquor  has  been  productive  of  only  evil,  prohibiting 
the  trade  can  result  in  nothing  better  ?  The  absurd- 
ities of  this  licensing  system  are  palpable  and 
monstrous.  We  make  laws  for  the  punishment  of 
various  crimes,  and  license  that  which  we  truly  know 
to  be  the  prolific  mother  of  almost  every  crime.  We 
prune  the  leaves  and  twigs  of  the  poisonous  upas-tree, 
and  water  the  roots. 

In  the  "  Christian  Union,"  of  August,  18S0,  I  find  the 
same  views  set  forth,  and  the  absurdities  of  the  license 
system  shown  up  by  vivacious  and  forcible  comparisons. 
I  know  not  that  for  nearly  fifty  years  lie  had  ceased  to 
feel  the  urgent  necessity  of  a  '"prohibitory  law." 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


109 


CHAPTER  IX. 


WORK  OF  PUBLICATION. 

,URING  most  of  my  life,  I  have  been  writing 


occasionally  for  the  press,  and  chiefly  for  the 
periodical  press.  In  giving  a  list  of  my  piiblica- 
tions,  I  can  give  only  the  principal  ones.  Of  the 
thousand  short  notices  and  fugitive  articles  which 
have  appeared  from  time  to  time,  I  can  give  no 
account  and  have  kept  no  record.  My  first  pub- 
lished article  was  a  short  one  on  "  Church  Disci- 
pline," written  while  I  was  a  student  in  divinity. 
It  grew  out  of  a  painful  case  of  discipline  in  the 
church  in  North  Wrentham,  in  which  I  was  inter- 
ested. Before  removing  to  Boston,  where  as  an 
editor  I  wrote  a  large  proportion  of  the  articles 
published  in  the  "  Spirit  of  the  Pilgrims,"  I  sent 
out  in  some  form,  two  or  three  articles  for  the 
press  every  year.  In  1824,  I  published  a  volume 
of  "  Monthly  Concert  Lectures,"  the  history  of 
which  I  have  already  given.  In  the  "National 
Preacher,"  and  in  pamphlet  or  tract  form,  some 
twenty-five  sermons  of  mine  have  been  published. 
From  1830  to  1870,  I  prepared  for  the  Sunday 
School  Union,  Tract  Society,  and  Congregational 
Publishing  House,  about  eighteen  small  works,  on 
topics  biographical,  or  practical,  or  connected  with 
my  studies  in  ecclesiastical  history,  —  u  Life  and 
Times  of  Wickliffe,"  "John  Knox,"  "Count  Zin- 


no 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


zendorf,"  "President  Davies,"  "Sketches  of  the 
Reformation,"  w  Popery,"  "  The  Ancient  Church," 
and  others  of  similar  character. 

In  1837,  Dr.  Pond  prepared  a  volume  on  the  subject  of 
M  Probation."  The  subject  is  treated  in  the  several  chapters 
entitled  "  This  life  a  season  of  probation."  "  Subjects  of 
probation  and  its  design."  "Probation  limited  to  the  present 
life,"  "  Objections  to  this  as  in  the  case  of  infants,  idiots, 
and  some  heathen,"  "  Consideration  of  1  Peter,  iii:  18-20." 
It  is  a  book  of  solemn  truth  and  is  influential  in  leading  its 
readers  to  realize  that  they  are  critically  and  solemnly 
situated  in  the  present  life ;  responsible  for  their  opinions, 
and  with  important  duties  to  discharge  one  toward  another. 

In  1844,  in  connection  with  my  instructions  to 
the  classes  under  my  charge  in  the  Theological 
Seminary,  I  prepared  a  course  of  "  Lectures  on 
Pastoral  Theology,"  which  was  published ;  and  in 
1866  a  second  edition  was  brought  out.  These 
instructions  relate  to  the  more  private  intercourse 
of  the  young  pastor  with  his  people,  including  his 
duties  to  them  in  the  house  and  by  the  way  ;  in 
times  of  sickness  and  affliction,  in  prosperity  and 
adversity  ;  duties  to  those  rejoicing  in  hope,  or 
mourning  in  darkness;  duties,  the  neglect  of 
which  can  never  be  supplied  by  any  gifts  of 
learning  or  eloquence. 

In  1S45.  Dr.  Pond  carefully  read  and  studied  the  works 
of  Emanuel  Swedenborg.  comprised  in  some  thirty  volumes. 
The  next,  year  he  published  a  book  which  gave  a  statement 
of  Swedenborg's  teachings  and  claims.  It  was  not  intended 
as  a  controversial  work,  and  was  written  rather  to  exhibit 
to  Evangelical  Christians  the  dangerous  tendencies  of  Swe- 


EEV.  ENOCH  TOND,  D.  I). 


Ill 


denborgian  doctrines,  which  at  that  time  were  being 
much  pushed  forward  before  the  Christian  public. 

The  preparation  for  the  book  was  a  great  labor,  and  con- 
stant application  to  it  through  two  long  vacations  proved 
nearly  too  much  for  him.  As  he  playfully  remarked,  upon 
the  sudden  attack  of  nervous  prostration  that  followed,  he 
"'saw  visions  and  dreamed  dreams  as  wild  as  Swedenborg's 
own."  This  book  has  had  a  wide  circulation.  It  was 
published  in  1846.  A  second  edition  (revised)  was  pub- 
lished in  1866;  a  third  edition  in  1874;  and  that  is  now 
nearly  exhausted,  though  the  work  is  still  called  for. 

In  1848.  Dr.  Pond,  when  a  member  of  a  committee  of  the 
Maine  Conference  for  such  a  purpose,  prepared  a  "  Manual 
of  Congregationalism,"  which  has  passed  through  two 
editions,  and  has  been  of  great  service  as  a  book  of  refer- 
ence in  congregation  councils  and  churches. 

When  Dr.  Bushnell.  of  Hartford,  published  his  new  views 
of  the  atonement,  Dr.  Pond  took  up  his  pen  to  reply.  He 
had  no  personal  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Bushnell.  He  did 
not  question  his  sincerity,  or  the  purity  of  his  motives ;  hut 
the  sentiments  published  in  his  "  God  in  Christ "  related  to 
the  fundamental  doctrines  of  our  religion ;  and  it  could  not 
be  a  matter  of  indifference  to  the  Christian  what  opinions 
were  entertained  in  relation  to  them.  In  this  "  Review  *' 
Dr.  Pond  endeavored  to  hold  forth  beacon  lights  to  those 
who  were  in  danger  of  making  shipwreck  of  their  faith. 
The  small  volume  entitled  "  Review  of  Bushnell's  God  in 
Christ  "  was  published  in  1849. 

In  1867, 1  published  my  "  Theological  Lectures," 
one  volume,  octavo.  This  book  was  the  result 
of  years  of  earnest  thought,  faithful  study  and 
teaching  of  theological  science.  It  has  been 
extensively  used  as  a  text-book  in  theological 
seminaries,  and  I  trust  may  prove  valuable  and 
attractive  to  all  thoughtful  Christians.    This  work 


112 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


of  my  best  jrears  I  dedicated  to  the  memory  of  my 
reverend  instructor  in  theology,  Rev.  Nathaniel 
Emmons,  D.  D.,  of  Franklin,  Mass.  It  was  first 
published  in  1867.  Three  editions  have  been  since 
published.  At  the  time  of  the  great  fire  in  Boston, 
the  stereotype  plates  of  the  book  were  destroyed. 
To  encourage  the  publishers  to  print  and  stereotype 
the  work  again,  it  was  necessary  to  secure  several 
hundred  subscribers.  These  were  in  a  short  time 
procured,  and  the  fourth  edition,  which  is  now 
nearly  exhausted,  was  issued. 

From  the  many  testimonials  given  to  the  value  of  these 
lectures,  I  select  but  one,  from  ;t  The  New  Englander  "  :  — 

"These  lectures  are  characterized  by  remarkable  per- 
spicuity of  thought  and  style,  robust  good  sense,  clear 
appreciation  of  the  practical  bearings  of  doctrine,  a  catholic 
and  liberal  spirit,  simplicity  and  directness  of  argume.it. 
and  sound  Scriptural  truth.  They  are  adapted  to  be  read 
and  studied  not  by  ministers  only,  but  by  all  intelligent 
Christians." 

Dr.  Pond  published,  in  1S70,  in  one  large  octavo  volume, 
his  lectures  on  ecclesiastical  history,   under  the  title, 

History  of  God's  Church."  This  book  contains  his 
lectures  to  the  students  of  the  Seminary,  written  since 
1862;  the  thirty  years  during  which  he  had  taught  church 
history  having  given  him  time  and  opportunity  for  thorough 
investigation  and  adaptation  to  the  wants  of  pupils.  It  has 
been  highly  commended  by  those  qualified  to  judge  of  its 
merits.  His  colleagues  at  the  Seminary,  at  the  time  of  its 
publication,  Professors  Talcott,  Herrick,  and  Barbour,  say 
of  it:  — 

"  This  volume  of  Dr.  Pond*s  meets  a  want  that  has  been 
long  and  widely  felt.  Ecclesiastical  histories  in  abundance 
there  are  in  the  market ;  but  among  them  all  is  none  that  is 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


113 


precisely  adapted  to  general  reading.  The  author  has  pre- 
sented the  leading  facts  connected  with  his  subject  with  all 
that  clearness  and  simplicity  of  style  for  which  he  is  dis- 
tinguished, and  has  given  us  emphatically  an  ecclesiastical 
history  for  the  people.  We  anticipate  for  it  an  extensive 
Circulation."    Two  editions  of  this  work  have  been  issued. 

••The  Seals  Opened;  or,  the  Apocalypse  Explained." 
The  volume  with  this  title  was  published  in  1871.  In  this 
commentary  on  the  book  of  Revelation,  Dr.  Pond  agrees 
more  nearly  with  Dr.  Barnes,  than  with  Professor  Stuart  or 
Professor  Cowles,  in  ascribing  the  date  of  its  writing  to  a 
time  subsequent  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  near 
the  close  of  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era;  therefore 
its  revelations  must  have  a  wider  sweep  than  that  accorded 
to  them  b}-  these  professors.  The  lessons  of  the  Apocalypse 
Dr.  Pond  understands  to  be  these :  To  impress  us  with  the 
fact  that  heavenly  beings  feel  a  deep  interest  in  all  that 
pertains  to  the  present  world,  because  redemption,  God's 
greatest  work,  is  here  going  on  :  "  much  thought  is  spent  on 
us  in  heaven " ;  to  testify  that  whatever  opposes  itself  to 
God  must  ultimately  fail;  and  that  God's  kingdom  must 
advance  and  stand  eternally.  One  of  the  results  of  this 
revelation  is  to  excite  hope  in  the  hearts  of  God's  people, 
who  are  looking  and  longing  lor  the  latter-day  glory  of  the 
church.  What  comfort  also  is  afforded  by  it  to  the  people 
of  God  in  darkest  times  !  To  the  imprisoned,  persecuted, 
martyred  saints  of  the  early  church  and  later  times,  it 
pointed  out,  in  the  darkness,  where  the  dawn  of  a  glorious 
day  would  break. 

in  1871,  a  work  entitled  '•  Conversion"  was  prepared  by 
Dr.  Pond,  and  published  by  the  Congregational  Publishing 
Society.    12mo.  180  pp. 

The  nature  and  importance  of  conversion  are  stated,  and 
illustrations  from  real  life  given;  as  the  marked  conver- 
sions of  Paul,  of  Augustine,  of  Luther,  of  Willi  an  Cowper, 
of  Colonel  Gardiner,  of  Edwards,  and  of  others ;  with  the 
design  to  show  that,  everywhere,  in  all  circumstances,  the 


114 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


great  and  needed  change  is  substantially  the  same;  while 
the  means  by  which  God  works  in  men,  and  the  first  holy 
aftvetions  produced  and  recognized  by  the  subjects  of  this 
change,  may  vary  as  widely  as  their  individual  natures  and 
surroundings. 

The  last  volume  published  by  Dr.  Pond  is  an  octavo  of 
six  hundred  and  thirty  pages  entitled  "  Conversations  on 
the  Bible,"  admirably  printed  and  illustrated  by  the  pub- 
lishers, C.  A.  Nichols  &  Co.,  Springfield.  Mass.  To  give 
the  plan  and  object  of  this  book,  I  quote  from  the  touching 
preface  :  — 

This  work  is  the  child  of  my  old  age.  My  reasons 
for  preparing  it  have  been  partly  personal.  I  needed 
something  to  do.  I  must  have  some  steady  congenial 
employment,  or  I  could  not  be  happy.  At  the  same 
time,  I  could  think  of  nothing  on  which  I  might  more 
appropriately  employ  my  thoughts,  at  my  period  of  life, 
than  on  the  Bible.  I  firmly  believed  it  to  be  a  revela- 
tion from  God  to  the  world,  "a  light  shining  in  a  dark 
place."  I  had  made  it,  in  one  form  or  another,  the 
study  of  a  long  life ;  my  sentiments  with  regard  to  it 
were  matured  and  settled,  and  what  better  could  I  do 
than  to  pass  over  its  sacred  contents,  in  the  form 
of  question  and  answer,  and  set  them  forth  for  the 
benefit  of  my  fellow-men  ?  The  conversational  form 
was  adopted,  as  being  the  most  familiar,  and  best 
adapted,  perhaps,  to  arrest  and  fix  the  attention.  The 
conversations  are  between  a  clerical  father  and  his  son : 
not  a  mere  child,  but  educated  and  about  to  enter  on 
studies  preparatory  to  the  ministry.  The  work  is  not 
intended  merely  for  children  and  young  persons.  It  is 
meant  to  be  read  in  families,  by  Sunday-school  teachers, 
by  persons  of  all  ages  and  conditions  of  life.  The  son 
does  not  always  approach  his  father  in  the  character 
of  a  mere  inquirer,  but  often  as  an  interlocutor  engaged 


REV.  ENOCH   POND,  D.  I>. 


115 


in  carrying  on  a  conversation,  and  proposing  questions 
for  this  very  purpose.  ...  I  commit  this,  my  latest, 
and  perhaps  last  publication,  to  God  and  his  people, 
trusting  that  it  may  lead  to  a  diligent  study  of  the 
Bible ;  to  a  greater  love  for  it  and  delight  in  it ;  to 
a  firmer  faith  in  its  doctrines ;  to  a  more  strict  con- 
formity to  its  sacred  precepts,"  and  thus  to  a  more  perfect 
preparation  for  the  eternal  rest  that  remaineth  for  the 
people  of  God. 

During  the  winter  of  his  ninetieth  year,  he  overlooked 
the  proof-sheets  of  this  volume,  often  expressing  the  hope 
that  he  might  live  to  see  its  completion.  This  wish  was 
granted,  and  the  pleasure  of  distributing  with  his  own  hand 
the  beautiful  volumes  to  his  children  and  many  friends. 
An  excellent  likeness  of  Dr.  Pond  is  at  the  opening  of  this 
book. 

During  the  fifty  years  in  connection  with  Bangor  Semi- 
nary, Dr.  Pond's  pen  was  never  idle,  and  rarely  a  week 
passed  without  some  contribution  to  the  press.  The  list  of 
articles  published  in  prominent  religious  periodicals  counts 
over  one  hundred  and  fifty,  and  of  contributions  to  news- 
papers several  hundred. 

Dr.  Pond  carried  on  a  large  correspondence.  He  wrote 
uncounted  letters  in  behalf  of  the  Seminary,  and  to  those 
inquiring  about  it,  or  seeking  admission  to  it.  H<?  held 
ever  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer  towards  a  large  circle  of 
friends  and  relatives,  his  scattered  pupils  and  his  own 
family. 

The  limits  we  have  set  to  this  simple  memorial,  our 
father's  autobiography  with  its  connecting  links,  and  illus- 
trations of  a  life  so  dear  to  all  who  participated  in  it,  forbid 
us  to  transcribe  anything  from  these  letters.  But  if  this 
great  correspondence  could  be  gathered  in.  what  warnings 
and  encouragements,  what  helps  over  hard  places,  what 
instructions,  what  pleadings  for  the  right,  what  breathings 


116 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


of  a  submissive,  trusting  spirit,  what  words  of  consolation, 
tenderness  affection,  would  be  revealed.  Yet  they  are  not 
lost.   No  word  for  God  or  for  humanity  is  ever  lost. 

"  Writing  is  eternal ; 
For  therein  the  dead  heart  liveth,  the  clay-cold  tongue  is  eloquent, 
And  the  quick  eye  of  the  reader  is  cleared  by  the  reed  of  the  scribe; 
And  so,  the  mind  that  was  among  us,  in  its  writings  is  embalmed." 

Among  original  papers  left  by  Dr.  Pond  are  Lectures  on 
Dogmatic  History,  Lectures  on  Mental  and  Moral  Philoso- 
phy, under  the  title  of  k>  The  Christian  Philosopher,"  a 
volume  of  Sermons  arranged  for  publication,  a  volume  of 
Miscellanies  arranged  for  publication. 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


117 


CHAPTER  X. 


SOCIAL  AND  DOMESTIC  LIFE  ENT  BAXGOR. 

T  ARRIVED  with  my  wife  and  six  children  in 
Bangor,  in  June,  1832.  We  found  it  neces- 
sary to  board  for  two  or  three  weeks,  hut  as  soon 
as  possible  went  to  housekeeping,  occupying  a 
double  house  with  the  family  of  Professor  Bond. 

We  had  left  dear  friends  and  pleasant  social 
circles  behind  us,  but  we  were  cordially  received 
by  new  friends  in  Bangor.  There  was  here  a 
choice,  though  small,  society,  kindred  in  religious 
and  intellectual  interests.  Such  families  as  those 
of  Crosby,  Adams,  Coombs,  Fisk,  McGaw,  Carr, 
Barker,  Hammond,  Brown,  laid  beautiful  founda- 
tions of  the  structure  of  social  life  in  Bangor. 

Our  domestic  life  in  Bangor  has  been  one  of 
mingled  correction  and  mercy.  In  the  spring  of 
1833,  a  son  was  born  to  us,  Joseph.  The  little 
fellow  lived  but  three  months.  My  eldest  child 
and  daughter  was  married  within  the  first  year  of 
our  residence  in  Bangor,  to  Rev.  Wooster  Parker, 
then  settled  pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church 
in  Castine,  Maine.  A  daughter,  Mary  Sophia, 
was  born  in  1835,  and  a  son,  the  Benjamin  of 
the  family,  in  March,  1837.  Besides  giving  my 
daughters  the  best  education  in  my  power,  I  have 
carried  four  sons  through  Bowdoin  College  and 
the  Theological  Seminary.    My  eldest  son,  Enoch, 


118 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


entered  college  in  1835,  when  fifteen  years  old. 
Until  the  year  1837,  we  had  little  to  record  in  our 
domestic  life  but  joy.  It  is  true  we  had  our  pri- 
vations ;  but  we  bore  them  bravely  together. 
There  was  plenty  of  hard  work,  and  every  expe- 
dient used  to  make  the  small  salary  go  as  far  as 
possible ;  but  love  made  the  work  easy.  Health, 
harmony,  and  success  bore  us  along  smoothly ;  and 
I  sometimes  look  back  to  those  "  days  that  are  no 
more  "  with  actual  longing. 

But,  in  the  spring  of  1837,  my  dear  wife,  the 
mother  of  my  children,  the  one  who  had  so  sweetly 
shared  my  changes,  my  joys,  and  my  sorrows,  was 
attacked  with  disease  of  the  lungs.  Though 
change  of  air,  rest,  and  the  best  medical  treat- 
ment were  tried  it  did  not  pass  away  as  we  hoped  ; 
but  settled  into  pulmonary  consumption.  After 
a  lingering  illness,  she  died  on  the  ninth  of  Sep- 
tember, 1838,  forty-one  years  of  age.  She  was  a 
noble  woman  ;  a  model  wife  and  mother,  a  faith- 
ful Christian  and  devoted  friend.  Quiet,  contem- 
plative, self-possessed,  she  was  greatly  admired  by 
all  who  saw  her,  and  greatly  beloved  by  all  who 
knew  her  best,  to  whom  she  was  an  example  in  all 
the  relations  of  social  and  domestic  life.  The  loss 
of  a  companion  so  loved  and  trusted  seemed  more 
than  I  could  bear.  I  knew  not  how  to  part  with 
her,  or  to  live  without  her.  In  God  alone  I 
sought  and  found  consolation. 

In  November,  1838,  my  second  daughter,  Cor- 
nelia, was  married  to  Charles  Proctor,  M.  D.,  of 
Rowley,  Mass.    The  marriage  had  been  deferred 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D.  119 

several  months,  on  account  of  her  mother's  sick- 
ness and  death,  to  whom  she  was  a  most  affection- 
ate daughter  and  nurse.  I  could  not  longer  re- 
quest her  to  delay,  though  her  leaving  us  so  soon 
after  the  death  of  my  wife  was  a  source  of  great 
loneliness  and  anxiety.  As  the  year  rolled  on, 
I  felt  the  need  of  some  one  to  take  the  place  of 
her  whom  I  had  lost.  My  children,  some  of  them 
quite  young,  needed  the  watchful  care  and  train- 
ing of  a  mother.  My  time  was  filled  with  Semi- 
nary, pulpit,  and  literary  labors,  and  I  could  not 
fill  the  places  of  both  father  and  mother.  I  felt 
the  importance  of  the  position,  for  which  I  sought 
and  obtained  of  God  one  whom  I  could  make 
a  mother  to  these  motherless  ones.  I  became 
acquainted  with  Mrs.  Anne  Mason  Pearson,  widow 
of  Captain  John  Pearson.  We  were  married 
in  July,  1839,  and  she  has  been  to  us  all  Ave  had 
reason  to  expect. 

We  were  a  rather  neglected  set  of  children,  and  two  of 
us  quite  young.  Left  so  long  to  ourselves,  I  fear  we  had 
grown  wilful  and  troublesome.  But  we  were  ready  to  wel- 
come the  new  mother  brought  to  us,  and  were  attracted  to 
her  by  her  affectionate  and  winning  manners.  As  I  look 
back  to  that  period  of  our  family  history,  I  wonder  that  a 
lady  could  have  been  found  with  grace  and  love  enough  to 
undertake  the  burden  of  such  a  family.  She  was  admirably 
fitted  for  her  duties.  We  may  have  missed  sometimes  that 
beautiful,  unselfish  love  and  indulgence  which  we  saw 
lavished  on  more  fortunate  companions.  One  can  have  but  f 
one  mother,  and  home  must  be  a  shade  less  bright  where 
that  one  is  wanting. 

She  was  a  woman  of  culture  and  power.    Her  influence 


120 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


was  felt  wherever  she  moved;  in  the  household,  in  society, 
in  works  of  benevolence  and  public  interest,  she  was 
formed  to  be  a  leader.  To  her  suggestion  and  efforts  is 
largely  due  the  erection  of  the  library  and  chapel  building 
of  the  Seminary.  My  father's  house  was  always  an  open 
one  to  old  and  new  friends,  and  my  mother  presided  hospi- 
tably and  elegantly  at  the  well-spread  board.  My  mother 
was  respected  and  beloved  by  the  students  of  the  Seminary, 
and  was  always  ready  to  attend  to  their  wants,  or  receive 
their  confidences.  Many,  coming  fresh  from  school,  college, 
or  country  life,  were  introduced  by  her  to  the  influences  of 
a  refining  social  life.  The  lonely  were  comforted,  the  diffi- 
dent encouraged,  the  dyspeptic  and  the  sick  were  nursed 
and  fed. 

The  years  of  1846  -  47  were  years  of  affliction 
and  bereavement  to  me.  Two  of  my  children 
were  settled  in  Massachusetts,  — Cornelia,  as  wife 
of  a  physician  in  Rowley,  and  Enoch,  who  gradu- 
ated from  the  Theological  Seminary  in  1843.  He 
was  married  to  Mary  T.  Blodget,  of  Bucksport, 
Maine,  and  settled  in  Georgetown,  Mass.,  six  miles 
from  his  sister  in  Rowley.  Both  continued  useful, 
happy,  and  healthy  until  the  winter  of  1846.  Both 
were  seized  about  the  same  time  with  violent  colds 
and  inflammation  of  the  lungs.  The  disease  in 
both  cases  proved  incurable.  It  ran  into  consump- 
tion, that  insatiable  destroyer  of  the  adult  members 
of  my  family,  and  took  them  both  away.  Cornelia 
failed  the  faster  of  the  two.  She  died  on  the  first 
of  July,  1846.  She  had  rare  gifts  of  mind  and 
heart.  She  had  in  a  remarkable  degree  the  power 
of  adaptation.  Though  brilliant  in  conversation, 
holding  her  place  well  in  the  society  of  the  most 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


121 


cultivated  minds,  ready  in  argument,  of  which  she 
was  fond,  and  quick  at  repartee,  she  gained  the 
affection  and  confidence  of  the  simplest  of  the 
working-people  about  her,  and  there  was  uni- 
versal mourning  at  her  grave.  She  left  a  husband 
and  four  little  children.  The  ties  that  bound 
her  to  life  were  strong,  but  her  last  hours 
were  peace.  She  retained  her  reason  till  the 
last  breath,  and  seemed  wholly  raised  above  the 
world  and  absorbed  in  the  visions  of  eternity. 

In  a  letter  to  an  absent  child,  my  father  at  this  time 
wrote :  — 

Our  dear  Cornelia  is  no  more  with  us.  She  has  left 
a  dear  circle  of  weeping  friends,  but  she  has  gone  to 
join  a  glorious  circle  of  friends  in  heaven. 

Above  all,  she  has  gone  to  be  with  her  Saviour,  the 
light,  the  sun,  the  joy,  and  glory  of  the  upper  world. 
I  feel  that  our  loss  is  unspeakably  great.  A  vacancy  is 
made  which  can  never  in  this  life  be  filled.  But  she, 
the  dear  child,  has  gained  more  than  we  have  lost.  She 
has  the  victory  and  gained  the  crown.  It  is  dark  and 
distressing  to  us  now,  but  it  is  all  plain  to  God  and  he 
will  make  it  plain  to  us.  Let  us  say  then  with  the 
Psalmist :  "  Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in 
him." 

Enoch  came  home  to  Maine  in  the  spring.  As  he  parted 
with  his  sister  on  leaving,  she  said,  with  a  smile:  "We 
shall  meet  again  soon,"  and  so  it  was.  Settled  at  the  age 
of  twenty-two,  his  work  and  care  were  undoubtedly  too 
much  for  him.  He  could  not  be  satisfied  to  labor  without 
results ;  and,  though  possessed  of  the  love  and  confidence 
of  his  people,  he  sought  most  earnestly  for  a  higher  stand- 
ard of  piety  for  them,  and  for  the  wakening  of  their 


122 


A  MEMORIAL  OE 


consciences  to  see  duty  more  clearly.  A  few  words  in  an 
early  letter  reveal  his  desire :  — 

"  I  long  for  more  stability  and  active  piety  in  the  mem- 
bers of  my  church."  "A  praying  church  is  a  minister's 
greatest  blessing.  I  hope  the  man  at  the  helm  is  not 
instrumeutally  too  weak  for  his  post,  but  I  sometimes  fear 
it.  I  know  1  must  be  humble  and  patient,  and  trust  in 
the  Lord,  and  wait  upon  Him  in  the  appointed  way ;  and  I 
try  to  do  so,  yet  sometimes  I  fear  my  labor  is  in  vain.  I 
earnestly  desire  your  prayers,  my  dearest  father,  for  my 
greater  faithfulness  and  success." 

A  neglected  cold,  over-confidence  in  a  strong  constitu- 
tion, unwillingness  to  give  up  his  chosen  work,  led  on  to 
fixed  disease.  It  was  a  painless  sickness  except  that  weari- 
ness, fever,  and  chills  are  distressing.  "  There  is  nothing 
the  matter  with  me  but  this  cough."  he  often  said.  There 
was  no  dread  or  fear  of  death.  He  died  at  Bncksport, 
December  17,  184G,  aged  twenty-six.  He  left  one  child, 
a  daughter;  her  beautiful  life  was  cut  oft"  by  tbe  same  dis- 
ease, and  at  the  same  age  with  that  of  her  father. 

These  losses  were  deeply  felt.  We  who  have  lived  to  see 
our  father  in  his  physical  weakness  unable  to  restrain  his 
emotions,  can  realize  how  very  tender  his  affections  were, 
and  how  strong  his  feelings  in  times  of  bereavement.  But 
in  his  earlier  years  there  was  no  outward  sign  of  anguish; 
only  we  noticed  in  the  family  prayers  a  more  entire  casting 
of  all  care  on  God,  and  delighting  in  His  will.  "  The  will  of 
the  Lord  be  done."    >l  God  never  makes  a  mistake." 

My  second  son,  William,  was  graduated  at  the 
Theological  Seminary,  and  was  ordained  as  an 
evangelist  in  August,  1852.  At  that  time  I  was 
laid  up  by  a  fit  of  sickness,  and  unable  to  take  any 
part  or  attend  at  his  ordination.  This  was  a  great 
trial,  but  T  remembered  "the  Lord  reigns,"  and 
submitted  to  his  holy  will.    My  son  left  New  York 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


123 


in  a  clipper  ship  for  San  Francisco,  with  his  bride, 
Mrs.  Caroline  Woodhull  Pond,  in  November,  and 
arrived  in  San  Francisco  the  last  of  February, 
1853.  I  little  expected  ever  to  see  him  again  ; 
but  the  good  providence  of  God  has  restored  him 
to  me  twice,  in  the  course  of  twenty  years. 

Our  father  had  several  seasons  of  sickness  during  the  last 
thirty  years  of  his  life,  one  of  which  w  as  very  severe.  But 
when  symptoms  of  great  danger  appeared  he  manifested 
no  surprise  or  anxiety;  instead  of  these,  there  were  quiet- 
ness, self-possession,  and  cheerfulness  even.  "  Have  you 
not  yet  exhausted  your  mercies,  Dr.  Pond  ?"  asked  his 
physician  one  day,  when  he  had  been  some  time  in  attend- 
ance upon  him.  "  You  have  a  new  one  to  recount  every 
morning."  This  unrepining,  self-forgetting  spirit,  waiting 
ever  on  the  Lord,  doubtless  aided  in  his  recovery. 

My  son  Jeremiah  Evarts  became  a  minister,  and 
was  first  settled  in  Neenah,  Wis.  He  was  married 
in  1857  to  Miss  Jeanie  W.  Baird,  of  Portsmouth, 
Ohio;  a  daughter  greatly  beloved,  who  passed 
early  away,  in  1871.  My  son,  in  1874,  married 
Miss  Lydia  Hoadly.  He  has  returned  to  preach 
in  Maine. 

In  1859,  my  daughter  Mary  married  George 
Blodget,  of  Bucksport,  Maine,  where  she  still  re- 
sides ;  and  my  youngest  son,  Benjamin  Wisner, 
was  settled  in  Barton,  Vt.  He  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  Professor  Newman,  of  Brunswick. 
He  is  now  one  of  the  examiners  of  patents,  in 
Washington,  D.  C.  One  daughter  remains  with 
me  to  be  a  comfort  and  blessing.  The  Lord  re- 
ward and  bless  her. 


124 


A  MEMORIAL  OP 


My  father  was  eminently  social.  His  conversational 
powers,  his  gift  at  story-telling,  his  native  humor,  his  tact 
in  avoiding  unpleasing  topics,  his  fondness  for  young  people, 
made  him  a  favorite  iu  every  family  of  his  acquaintance. 
Said  a  daughter  of  one  of  those  good  deacons  in  Maine,  who 
in  tiie  old  times  kept  a  minister's  home  :  "  We  used  to  have 
a  great  many  ministers  stopping  at  our  home  for  one  or 
more  days  and  nights;  some  we  liked,  some  we  avoided, 
some  we  were  indifferent  to.  But  when  Professor  Pond 
came,  we  were  always  glad.  There  were  stories  and  good 
cheer,  but  no  solemn  words,  no  reproving  looks;  yet  we 
were  always  better  and  happier  for  his  presence."  My 
father  journeyed  far  and  wide  in  Maine,  presenting  the 
cause  of  the  Seminary  to  individuals  and  churches,  going 
with  his  own  horse  usually,  and  returning  on  Monday,  for 
"  Sabbath-day  journeys  "  were  not  then  so  long  as  they  are 
now  allowed  to  be.  As  I  was  the  feeble  one  of  the  flock, 
I  was  indulged  in  the  ride  with  father.  I  was  so  small 
he  often  threatened  to  put  me  in  his  pocket  over  Sunday, 
yet  I  well  understood  the  hearty  welcome  he  everywhere 
received,  and  how  for  his  sake  the  puny  child  was  cared  for 
also. 

There  was  a  certain  dignity  about  him  which  prevented 
great  familiarity;  and  a  gentleness  and  courtesy  of  manner 
and  speech  which  won  the  goodwill  of  the  ignorant.  His 
sympathy  and  respect  for  the  poor  and  unfortunate  made 
him  a  joyful  giver,  not  only  of  money  and  immediate  aid, 
but  of  valuable  time  and  good  counsel,  devising  schemes 
for  better  relief  by  making  them  able  to  help  themselves. 
He  used  to  say :  "  Pity._costs  nothing,  money  is_  easily  given, 
but  to  think  for  others  is  a  gift  indeed."  He  appreciated 
the  value  of  what  was  done  for  him  very  highly,  and  when 
lie  paid  for  labor  done,  his  frequent  criticism  was  :  "  1  don't 
Ihink  you  have  asked  enough."  By  all  classes  in  society 
my  father  was  loved  and  honored.  He  once  said,  near  the 
close  of  life:  "There  is  one  command  of  our  Lord's  I  can- 
not obey:  'Forgive  your  enemies';  for  1  don't  know  that 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


125 


I  have  an  enemy  in  the  world.  If  I  have  a  secret  enemy, 
I  freely  forgive  him."  It  was  not  my  father's  habit  to  talk 
much  on  personal  religion  with  the  unconverted,  unless  they 
sought  for  such  conversation.  lie  never  preached  out  of 
the  pulpit,  and  of  his  many  stories  I  remember  hardly  one 
which  was  used  to  -'point  a  moral."  Even  to  his  children 
he  rarely  spoke  on  that  subject,  which  we  knew  was  nearest 
his  heart,  —  our  own  conversion.  We  knew,  without  his 
speaking,  what  he  most  desired  us  to  be.  We  were  taught 
by  his  life  what  a  Christian  life  was.  We  heard  his  petitions 
at  the  family  altar.  His  silence  and  reserve  on  those  solemn 
themes  —  our  own  sinful  state  and  our  need  of  a  Saviour  — 
were  more  eloquent  than  words  could  have  been.  The 
never-to-be-forgotten  words  with  which,  two  or  three  times, 
he  may  have  pressed  upon  us  eternal  truth  and  duty,  are  too 
sacred  to  be  revealed.  They  were  unusual,  effective,  and 
full  of  the  Spirit.  An  absent  son,  writing  to  him  on  his 
ninetieth  birthday,  expresses  the  same  idea:  11 1  do  not 
remember  the  time,  my  dear  father,  in  my  earliest  boyhood 
when  the  impression  was  not  made  upon  my  heart,  'My 
father  is  a  good  man,  a  man  of  God,  and  I  must  become 
such  a  man  as  he  is.'  My  life,  I  well  know,  did  not  show 
then  the  power  of  such  impressions;  but  that  impression 
was  there,  and  it  has  borne  fruit  in  later  years.  Your  love 
of  study,  and  your  patient  and  unremitting  devotion  to  your 
work,  have  been  an  incitement  to  me  in  my  chosen  work; 
and  I  am  glad  I  can  point  my  children  to  your  example  of 
industry,  and  of  cheerful  and  earnest  piety,  as  a  model  for 
them."  A  friend  who  was  in  our  family  a  great  deal  writes 
thus  of  my  father:  "  His  facility  in  turning  from  one  thing 
to  another  as  occasion  required ;  his  passing  from  the  study 
to  look  after  some  domestic;  affair,  and  then  back  to  resume 
his  book  or  pen,  was  a  rare  trait.  Was  not  his  cheerful 
meeting  each  event  and  each  demand  upon  him  evidence  of 
that  faith  in  a  constant  ordering  of  all  things  by  God?  His 
devotion  to  your  mother,  in  those  long  years  of  her  blind- 
ness, declared  the  true  gentleman  and  the  true  piety  that 


126 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


is  sure  to  show  itself  at  home.  The  law  of  kindness  was 
on  his  lips ;  and  '  whatever  his  hand  found  to  do  he  did  it 
with  his  might.' " 

A  long  absent  friend  in  Germany  writes:  "I  suppose 
infirmities  may  have  dimmed  for  him  the  joys  of  earth;  but 
as  his  chief  delight  was  to  do  the  will  of  God,  whatever 
were  the  occupations  of  his  last  years,  we  may  be  sure 
he  rejoiced  in  them  in  spite  of  all  privations  and  afflictions. 
I  have  often  recalled  his  sunny  temper,  and  fondness  for 
work,  and  large  trust  in  the  wisdom  and  love  of  God, 
with  astonishment.  It  is  so  easy  for  most  of  us  to  fret,  to 
be  anxious,  to  let  an  opportunity  for  doing  good  go  by, 
and  to  be  lazy !  The  thought  of  so  much  accomplished 
brings  with  it  the  remembrance  of  his  systematic  industry 
prompted  by  principle.  Many  lives  that  have  been  stim- 
ulated by  his  teaching  and  example  will  testify,  at  the  last, 
to  the  rock-like  type  of  his  piety.  He  was  never  a  builder 
upon  sand." 

From  another  young  friend,  who  had  been  much  in  our 
family,  and  whose  real  heroism  my  father  greatly  admired, 
came  these  words  :  — 

"  What  a  beautiful  and  blessed  thing  to  have  had  all  your 
life  a  father  to  love  and  honor.  And  all  the  time  it  is  run- 
ning through  my  head, '  And  he  was  not,  for  God  took  him.' 
The  kind  words  he  spoke  and  the  deeds  which  he  did  come 
up  one  after  another,  through  the  many  years  I  have  known 
him.  Once  he  said  to  me  :  '  Well,  Fannie,  if  you  are  not  one 
of  the  children,  I  don't  know  where  the  difference  is.'  I  was 
so  pleased  and  proud  at  the  time,  and  it  has  always  been 
a  very  tender  memory,  because  I  knew  the  affection  was 
sure  to  last,  and  I  meant  to  be  worthy  of  it." 

One  long  associated  with  my  father  in  the  Seminary 
writes:  "  I  feel  that  I  have  lost  a  very  dear  friend.  Whe.i 
I  first  went  to  Bangor  lie  received  us  at  his  house;  and  his 
kindness,  magnanimity,  and  bright  and  cheerful  spirit 
endeared  him  to  me  at  once,  and  my  love  for  him  grew,  the 
longer  I  knew  him. 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


127  « 


M  He  has  been  a  man  abundant  in  Christian  work  all  his 
life.  The  amount  he  has  published  has  been  very  great, 
and  a  very  large  proportion  of  his  published  volumes 
have  been  widely  circulated  and  much  read.  I  have  long 
felt  that  the  churches  in  Maine  are  indebted  to  him  for 
great  services  rendered  them;  and  his  influence  has 
reached  far  beyond  that  State.  I  am  thankful  to  God 
for  his  long,  active,  useful  life.  For  him  we  can  none 
of  us  ever  be  sorry  he  is  gone;  for  his  work  was  done,  and 
he  was  so  shut  out,  by  his  infirmities,  from  the  active  world, 
that  it  must  be  with  special  delight  he  finds  himself  young 
arid  vigorous  again,  able  to  enter  upon  his  Master's  work. 
What  will  that  work  be?   How  strange  it  all  is!" 

Iii  1874,  my  wife  died.  We  had  lived  happily 
together  for  thirty-five  years,  and  though  afflicted 
with  many  infirmities,  and  for  the  last  years  of 
her  life  totally  blind,  she  was  an  affectionate  wife, 
an  efficient  helper  in  the  training  of  the  children, 
in  providing  for  them,  and  bearing  with  me  the 
cares  and  burdens  of  life.  About  six  )-ears  before 
her  death,  we  perceived  cataract  forming  in  both 
eyes.  She  submitted  to  an  operation,  which  was 
unsuccessful,  and  she  became  entirely  blind.  She 
suffered  more  or  less  through  our  whole  married 
life  from  neuralgia,  moving  from  one  part  of  the 
body  to  another.  At  last  it  reached  the  heart. 
She  had  several  spasms  from  this-  form  of  heart- 
disease  ;  and  from  one,  which  occurred  on  the 
morning  of  the  fifth  of  September,  she  did  not 
recover.  She  had  but  a  moment's  knowledge  that 
she  was  dying  and  made  a  great  effort  to  say 
"Good-by,  all."  She  was  buried  at  Mt.  Hope 
Cemetery,  on  the  eighth  of  September.  There, 


128 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


with  other  loved  ones,  she  rests,  awaiting  the 
resurrection  of  the  just.  We  shall  never  forget 
her.    I  expect  soon  to  follow  her. 

As  we  closed  the  long-sightless  eyes,  my  father  said: 
"  Thank  God  she  did  not  live  to  find  me  dead !  " 

"  She  has  gone  first, 
Never  to  know  ttie  loneliness  of  parting 
With  him  who  was  her  earthly  stay; 
Who  gently  led  her  down  even  to  the  brink 
Of  the  dark  river,  and  there  bade  her 
Farewell,  and  gave  her  hand  to  Jesus." 

About  the  time  I  was  seventy  years  old,  I  began 
to  be  seriously  troubled  witli  deafness.  This  deaf- 
ness was  partly  an  inherited  disease,  and  came  on 
very  gradually.  It  did  not  for  years  prevent  my 
attending  to  my  recitations  at  the  Seminary,  nor 
interfere  with  other  duties.  I  wanted  those  who 
addressed  me  to  speak  distinctly,  but  without  rais- 
ing the  voice.  The  loss  of  hearing  is  indeed  a 
great  loss,  the  greatest  perhaps  next  to  loss  of 
sight,  yet  not  without  its  compensations.  My 
mother,  who  for  years  was  afflicted  with  deafness 
used  to  say  to  those  who  pitied  her,  "  I  get  rid  of 
hearing  avast  amount  of  nonsense."  Not  only  so, 
but  the  deaf  escape  hearing  many  disagreeable 
noises  and  sounds.  Nature  in  its  flitting  course 
has  many  unpleasant  sounds.  The  noise  of  them 
the  deaf  escape.  It  was  this  infirmity  which 
hastened  my  resignation  of  Church  History,  in 
1881,  being  then  in  my  eighty-fourth  year.  Since 
the  death  of  my  two  children  Cornelia  and  Enoch, 
there  has  been  no  death  among  them.    They  still 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


12<J 


remain  to  me,  with  many  grandchildren,  and  some 
of  the  next  generation. 

As  I  look  back  over  my  past  history  as  a  hus- 
band and  father,  though  I  have  been  often  and 
sorely  smitten,  I  feel  I  have  much  occasion  to 
speak  of  the  goodness  and  mercy  of  the  Lord. 
Few  have  been  so  much  blessed  in  their  matrimo- 
nial connections.  To  have  had  three  wives  given 
me  in  succession,  each  of  whom  I  esteem  as 
among  the  loveliest  and  best  of  her  sex,  is  a  pre- 
cious gift.  My  children,  too,  have  all  been,  and 
are,  good  and  affectionate  children.  The  departed 
ones  are,  I  fully  believe,  in  Heaven.  I  love  to 
think  of  those  who  died  in  early  childhood,  as 
away  from  me  at  school,  —  the  best  school  in  the 
Universe,  where  they  have  the  best  teachers,  and 
are  learning  the  best  things  in  the  best  possible 
manner.  I  expect  erelong  to  go  and  see  them  — 
see  what  progress  they  have  made  and  to  what 
heights  of  glory  they  are  ultimately  destined. 
For  I  think  it  not  unlikely  that,  among  the 
brightest  spirits  that  surround  the  throne,  may  be 
found  many,  at  the  last,  who  have  left  this  world 
in  infancy. 

My  six  surviving  children  are  an  honor  and 
comfort  to  me.  Some  of  them  are  filling  respon- 
sible positions  in  the  church.  Those  of  my  grand- 
children who  have  come  to  years  of  discretion 
are,  I  trust,  walking  in  the  steps  of  their  parents 
and  ancestors.  The  eldest  (living),  Dr.  Edwin 
Parker,  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  is  a  distinguished 
minister  of  the  Gospel.    With  such  a  family  as 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


this,  part  of  it  in  Heaven,  the  other  part  a  joy  and 
comfort  to  me  on  earth,  who  has  more  cause  of 
gratitude  than  I  ?  Who,  with  more  reason,  can 
call  upon  his  soul  to  bless  and  praise  the  name  of 
the  Lord  for  all  his  goodness. 

As  to  myself,  having  now  passed  my  eighty- 
fourth  birthday,  I  feel  my  time  that  remains  on 
earth  is  short.  Though  I  am  now  in  very  good 
health,  retaining  most  of  my  faculties  of  body  and 
mind,  yet  I  know  that  I  am  Hearing  a  great  crisis, 
and  should  be  in  constant  readiness  for  my  final 
change.  I  thank  God  that  it  has  no  terrors  for 
me.  I  can  look  forward  to  it  without  dismay. 
Christ  is  the  foundation  of  all  my  hopes,  and,  rest- 
ing on  Him,  1  know  my  building  can  never  fall. 

The  last  written  of  the  Autobiography.  September,  1875. 
Bangor,  Maine. 


REV.  ENOCH.  POND,  D.  D. 


131 


CHAPTER  XI. 

LAST  YEARS,  DEATH,  AND  BURIAL. 

"  Persons  who  have  lived  heroic  Christian  lives,  often  set  in  death  as 
silently  as  the  stars  set  In  the  horizon;  and  they  leave  no  testimony 
whatever  on  the  deathbed.  Their  lives  are  their  testimony.  They  are 
the  best  testimony  any  one  can  leave  behind  him.  His  life  when  he  is 
under  temptation  j  when  he  is  bearing  burdens ;  when  the  battle  is  high ; 
how  he  acquits  himself;  what  is  his  whole  character,  and  what  are  the 
fruits  and  results  of  his  living;  what  these  are,  is  a  great  deal  better 
testimony  than  any  other."  — II.  W.  Reecher. 

Seven  years  of  our  father's  life  remain  unrecorded  by 
his  pen.  They  were  prayerful,  trusting,  quiet,  but  not 
idle  years.  "I  cannot  be  happy  to  do  nothing"  was 
a  frequent  remark.  I  think  he  expected  and  desired 
a  sudden  death,  but  always,  "as  the  Lord  appoints. 
If  it  be  his  will  that  I  should  be  laid  aside,  useless  and 
a  burden,  for  a  long  time,  I  hope  I  can  bear  it  patiently, 
but  I  would  rather  die  with  the  harness  on."  Several 
short  journeys  were  made  during  these  years.  One 
in  the  summer  of  1877,  to  St.  Stephen,  N.  B.,  which 
he  enjoyed  very  much.  Two  short  visits  were  made 
in  Massachusetts,  when  he  went  to  the  old  homestead 
and  looked  upon  the  scenes  of  his  childhood.  At  the 
time  of  his  last  visit  there,  he  prepared,  and  read  to  an 
assembly  of  old  friends,  '-The  Ecclesiastical  Histoiy 
of  Wrentham,"  afterwards  published  in  "The  Congre- 
gational Quarterly  Review,"  1878.  His  last  visits  were 
made  with  his  children  in  Warren,  Belfast,  and  Bucks- 
port,  Maine,  in  the  summer  of  1879.  His  love  of  home 
was  very  strong,  and  he  was  never  quite  happy  away 
from  his  accustomed  place.  He  was  almost  severe  in  his 
judgment  of  those  who  felt  a  change  of  air  and  place 


132 


A  MEMORIAL  OP 


necessary  to  them  every  season,  insisting  it  was 
"fashion,"  not  health,  they  pursued;  jet  usually  adding, 
in  an  apologetic  tone,  "I  don't  care,  however,  if  they 
will  let  me  stay  at  home."  "Locality,"  as  phrenology 
terms  it,  was  largely  developed  in  our  father's  mental 
constitution.  His  methodical  tendencies  made  a  routine 
agreeable  to  him,  and  necessary  to  rapid  work.  Hit, 
habits  were  formed  when  much  was  to  be  accomplished, 
and  when  the  time  of  work  was  over,  these  habits 
remained  fixed.  He  never  attempted  the  achievement 
of  any  work  without  a  plan;  and  the  plan,  once  care- 
fully formed,  was  closely  adhered  to.  A  leading 
characteristic  of  his  mind  was  that,  having  examined 
a  subject  thoroughly,  and  formed  an  opinion  concerning 
it,  he  could  not  admit  of  a  doubt.  This  was  frequently 
an  advantage;  sometimes  a  disadvantage. 

During  the  last  years,  our  father's  life  varied  little  in 
its  routine.  Those  who  were  with  him  studied  to  con- 
form to  it  as  far  as  possible,  and  to  prevent  any  pressure 
of  circumstances  breaking  in  upon  it.  He  never  rose 
before  the  sun,  having  as  little  faith  in  morning  candles 
as  in  midnight  oil.  The  open  fire,  which  burned  on  our 
sitting-room  hearth  nearly  twelve  months  in  the  year, 
was  his  first  care.  This  adjusted,  breakfast  followed; 
a  simple  meal,  but  eaten  always  with  good  zest,  having 
the  blessing  of  God  on  it.  Cheerfulness  sat  at  the  table 
with  us,  and  often  gayety;  for  we  always  had  some 
young  folks  there.  Among  our  father's  homely  counsels 
was  this:  "If  you  rise  in  the  morning  out  of  sorts, 
melancholy,  or  cross,  come  to  breakfast  with  a  smile  on 
your  face,  even  if  it  be  forced,  and  make  some  one  else 
smile.  Before  you  know  it,  your  heart  will  be  full  of 
good  cheer,  and  care  driven  to  the  winds."  The 
morning  prayers  followed.     Father  read  in  course; 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


133 


tlie  Old  Testament  in  the  morning,  the  New  Testament 
at  night.  He  used,  generally,  a  form  of  prayer,  slightly 
varied;  but  the  appropriate  petitions  and  well-chosen 
language  did  not  grow  cold  or  formal.  There  was 
a  good  deal  of  thanksgiving  in  these  prayers  —  and 
confession,  submission,  dependence.  The  absent  ones, 
children,  grandchildren,  friends,  were  gathered  in  the 
arms  of  faith  and  brought  to  the  Lord  for  a  blessing. 
The  kingdom  of  Christ,  its  increase  and  glory,  was 
always  sought  for,  and  in  the  name,  and  for  the  "dear 
Redeemer's  sake/*  all  was  offered  and  asked. 

The  morning  hours  were  often  spent  in  the  study,  but 
head  and  hand  were  frequently  rested;  in  winter  to 
renew  the  fire,  in  summer  to  work  in  the  garden.  Our 
father  had  a  great  love  of  gardening,  and  a  pride  in  the 
growth  and  perfection  of  his  shrubs  and  vines.  His 
tulip-bed,  where  each  flower  vied  with  the  others  in 
brilliant  or  delicate  colors,  was  his  pet  in  early  summer. 
His  corn  and  small  forest  of  bean-poles,  his  pride  in  the 
later  months.  No  "  envious  weed M  was  allowed  to 
reach  mature  growth.  He  used  to  say:  "Weeds  are 
like  sin  in  the  human  heart ;  spontaneous  of  growth 
and  hard  to  kill  out "  ;  and  when  his  hoe  was  cutting 
off  chickweed  and  purslane,  no  doubt  the  inward  con- 
test was  with  pride  and  selfishness. 

A  refreshing  nap  in  that  easy  chair,  which  had 
"avast  amount  of  sleep  in  it,"  prepared  him  to  meet 
and  enjoy  friends  who  might  call ;  or  to  walk  out  with 
measured  tread  and  leaning  on  his  cane,  as  befitted  his 
more  than  fourscore  years.  A  friend  once  remarked 
on  the  evident  pleasure  with  which  he  walked  about  our 
beautiful  Seminary  grounds,  u  He  remembers  how  David 
said:  'Walk  about  Zion,  and  go  round  about  her;  tell 
the  towers  thereof.  Mark  ye  well  her  bulwarks ;  con- 
sider her  palaces.'" 


134 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


Father  sometimes  said :  "  I  have  the  hest  pair  of  eyes 
the  Lord  ever  made,"  and  the  gift  was  faithfully  used. 
The  morning  and  the  evening  were  his  times  of  reading. 
Writing,  either  of  letters  or  for  the  press,  or  revision 
of  previous  writings,  employed  the  time  during  the  fore- 
noon in  the  study ;  but  our  father  accomplished  a  vast 
amount  of  reading.  Increasing  deafness  removed  him, 
in  a  measure,  from  social  life,  and  he  found  companion- 
ship in  books.  Within  these  last  years,  he  has  selected 
from  the  Seminary  library  a  large  array  of  well-chosen 
books — books  old  and  new.  I  should  say  largely  his- 
torical and  biographical, — the  lives  and  labors  of  the 
fathers  of  tbe  early  church  —  of  the  early  English 
Church ;  and  of  late  biographies,  which  have  been  so 
abundant  and  delightful,  he  has  hardly  missed  one. 
I  used  to  think,  as  I  saw  him  so  absorbed  in  the  story 
of  the  lives  of  those  hoty  men  who  had  jiassed  on  to  the 
other  si  lore,  that  he  was  preparing  himself  to  join  this 
company,  and  meant  to  be  no  stranger  to  them ;  just  as 
one  going  to  a  foreign  land  studies  about  the  country 
to  which  he  journeys,  and  the  history  and  character  of 
the  illustrious  people  whom  lie  is  to  meet  there.  Father 
was  a  great  reader  of  religious  newspapers  and  period- 
icals, and  wrote  for  them  till  the  last  year  of  bis  life. 
He  never  destroyed  a  religious  paper.  Early  in  each 
week,  six  or  eight  were  wrapped  and  directed  by  his 
own  band,  and  mailed,  to  do  good  service  in  other  homes. 
The  last  book  that  father  read,  except  the  Bible,  was 
a  "Memoir  of  Dr.  Joel  Hawes."  He  had  read  it  before, 
but  expressed  fresh  pleasure  in  this  tribute  to  his  life- 
long friend  and  college  classmate.  My  father  enjoyed 
his  friends  and  their  calls  upon  him  very  much.  His 
love  of  the  young  seemed  to  increase  with  his  years,  and 
he  appreciated  their  attentions  and  affection.    He  loved 


KEY.  ENOCH  POND,  D.D. 


135 


to  see  their  happy  faces  when  he  did  not  hear  their 
voices.  "I  like  to  see  her  talk,  her  eyes  flash  so,  and 
she  is  in  such  earnest,"  he  used  to  say  of  a  grand- 
daughter. Two  or  three  grandchildren  -were  always 
with  him,  and  he  especially  enjoyed  them,  having  "  all 
the  pleasure  and  none  of  the  responsibility."'  His 
affectionate  interest  and  generosity  toward  them  was 
unfailing,  and  they  received  more  than  any  transient 
gift, — the  influence  of  his  life  and  example. 

But  when  some  more  mature  friend  sat  near  his  "best 
ear,"  speaking  slowly  and  clearly,  bringing  out  the 
consonant  sounds  forcibly,  and  following  out  a  train  of 
thought  and  conversation,  the  correctness  of  judgment 
of  men  and  tilings,  the  nice  distinctions  he  was  capable 
of  making,  the  quickness  and  originality  of  thought 
shown  in  his  replies,  and  the  force  of  his  expression,  was 
almost  equal  to  his  prime. 

My  father  loved  the  house  of  God.  Though  for  two 
or  three  years  unable  to  understand  the  -words  of  prayer 
or  sermon,  he  loved  to  see  the  faces  of  his  brethren  and 
sisters,  to  feel  that  lie  was  still  one  of  them,  to  exchange 
greetings  with  them,  and  to  unite,  as  far  as  possible, 
with  them  in  their  worship.  He  felt  it  a  duty  thus  to 
honor  the  institution  of  public  worship,  which  be 
believed  to  be  a  divine  institution.  He  felt  his  example 
was  worth  something ;  that  perhaps  a  careless  neighbor 
seeing  him,  a  deaf  man,  so  much  set  on  going  to  church, 
might  be  influenced  by  curiosity  or  conscience  to  go 
also.  Sitting  in  the  silence  amid  the  swelling  tones 
of  psalm  or  prayer,  I  doubt  not  his  thoughts  ascended 
from  these  "lower  courts"  to  that  great  congregation, 
where,  no  longer  a  voiceless  witness,  he  should  be  a 
rejoicing  hearer  and  singer  among  the  alleluias  of 
heaven.    The  interests  of  the  church,  of  which  he  had 


136 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


been  a  member  forty-nine  years,  were  very  dear  to  him. 
He  gave  liberally  toward  its  support  and  to  the  benev- 
olent causes  there  presented.  He  sought  at  all  times 
its  peace  and  purity,  and  was  faithful  to  his  covenant 
vows.  What  be  was  to  his  pastor,  Rev.  S.  P.  Fay,  now 
of  Dorchester,  Mass.,  who  for  tbirteen  years  stood  in 
that  relation  to  him,  will  tell :  — 

He  was  so  much  to  me  in  the  thirteen  years  of  my  life 
in  Bangor ;  I  have  come  to  esteem  him  so  highly  as  a  noble 
Christian  man  and  sincere  friend,  that  were  I  still  his  pastor 
I  could  find  no  words  to  express  my  sense  of  loss  at  his 
death.  Almost  every  week  I  saw  him  in  his  happy  home. 
Almost  every  Sabbath  for  thirteen  years  I  looked  upon  his 
devout  and  earnest  face,  as  lie  sat  in  that  first  pew,  in  his 
sincere  worship  of  Ins  God.  He  was  a  model  parishioner. 
I  never  shall  forget  how  wisely  and  kindly  lie  looked  upon 
my  imperfections ;  and  how  encouragingly  he  used  to 
speak  to  me;  and  how  devoutly  he  used  to  pray  for  me; 
how  sincerely  he  rejoiced  in  every  gain  to  his  dear  Lord,  in 
the  church.  In  a  word,  he  had  all  those  virtues  which 
made  him  a  rare  treasure  to  any  minister,  and  a  rich  bless- 
ing to  any  church. 

And  then  what  a  genial  friend  lie  was !  How  3'oung  he 
kept  his  heart !  How  he  loved  a  good  story !  What  a  merry 
ring  his  laugh  had !  It  is  rare  to  find  so  admirable  a  temper, 
and  so  kind  a  heart,  and  so  large  a  brain,  and  so  devoted  a 
piety,  in  one  and  the  same  man.  He  never  sent  any  one 
away  with  a  sad  heart.  To  the  poor  lie  was  a  benefactor; 
to  the  rich  an  example.  His  piety  went  hand  in  hand  with 
his  generosity,  and  he  always  thanked  God  for  the  oppor- 
tunity to  do  good.  He  seemed  to  have  gained  a  perfect 
submission  to  the  will  of  God;  a  serene  and  undisturbed 
joy  under  afflictions  and  disappointments;  a  bright  example 
of  Christian  purity  and  growth.  The  last  time  I  ever  saw 
the  dear  old  man,  he  was  in  his  ninetieth  year,  reading  the 
proof-sheets  of  lus  last  book.    His  piety,  humility,  and 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


137 


love  appeared  most  attractive  in  those  last  days  of  his 
whitened  locks.  For  him  to  live  was  Christ.  To  work  for 
his  Master  was  his  "  loved  employ,"  and  he  did  this  work 
up  to  the  time  his  Master  called  him. 

The  last  Sabbath  in  November,  1881,  was  the  last 
time  father  filled  his  accustomed  seat  at  the  church.  I 
do  not  think  he  suj>posed  it  to  be  the  last.  It  was  no 
more  difficult  for  him  to  descend  from  his  carriage  or 
ascend  the  stairs  and  walk  to  his  pew,  than  it  had  been 
for  several  weeks.  But  we  saw  the  end  was  near ;  even 
those  who  only  noted  the  increasing  feebleness  of  his 
handwriting  took  the  alarm.  This  is  evident  in  a 
letter  from  his  son  in  San  Francisco.  He  writes  to  his 
father  :  — 

But  your  handwriting  speaks  to  me  far  more  forcibly 
than  the  words  it  conveys.  I  feel  as  though  your  eldest 
living  son's  strong  arms  ought  now  to  be  under  you;  and  I 
can  hardly  bear  to  be  away  so  far.  In  heaven,  it  may  be, 
you  will  be  nearer  to  me  than  you  can  be  shut  up  close  in 
the  house  in  Bangor.  But  to  feel  you  were  not  there ;  that 
I  could  not  write  to  you,  —  you  cannot  think  what  a  void  it 
would  make  and  the  sense  of  privilege  I  should  lose.  It 
comes  to  me,  as  never  before,  in  your  letter  written,  almost 
for  the  first  time,  with  a  hand  that  told  of  enfeeblement  and 
old  age.  God  bless  you,  dear  father,  and  make  each  day  a 
little  sunnier  than  the  day  before,  till  he  shall  take  you 
easily  and  sweetly  to  himself.    Your  loving  son, 

WILLIAM. 

Father's  last  letter  was  written  to  his  old  friend  Rev. 
Stephen  Thurston,  of  Searsport,  who  for  a  very  long 
time  had  been  feeble  in  mind  and  body.  It  was  written 
with  great  difficulty,  but  from  regard  to  Dr.  Thurston's 
earnest  wish,  lie  attempted  the  task.  It  concludes  thus: 
"What  the  Lord  means  to  do  with  me,  I  do  not  know, 
nor  am  I  anxious.     I  am  in  the  best  hands  in  the 


138 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


universe,  and  there  I  desire  to  lie  submissive  and  happy. 
I  trust  you  feel  and  enjoy  the  same.  I  love  you  and 
honor  your  memory.  May  you  be  faithful  unto  death, 
and  obtain  the  crown  of  life.  I  am  tired.  My  work  on 
earth  is  done  ;  but  I  know  I  love  God  my  Saviour,  and 
I  expect  to  go  and  dwell  forever  with  him." 

The  following  description  of  the  beautiful  old  age  of  Dr. 
Hodge,  of  Princeton,  is  also  an  accurate  delineation  of  our 
father's  life  as  it  drew  to  a  close :  "  Though  he  was  gener- 
ally well,  he  was  weak  and  often  weary.  Though  he  was 
beautiful,  it  was  the  wasting  beauty  of  the  autumn  leaf. 
Though  he  reclined  with  an  unwavering  mind  and  confidence 
on  a  supernatural  hope,  his  spirit  and  life  were  eminently 
natural.  Though  he  had  no  fear,  he  had  no  desire,  to  die. 
He  looked  beyond  the  world,  rather  than  rose  entirely  above 
it.  His  interest  in  all  human  things  was  genuine  and  strong, 
and  his  cheerfulness  was  never-failing,  yet  often  tinged 
with  a  pathetic  wistfulness,  arising  from  an  habitual  sense 
of  the  imminence  of  his  own  departure." 

After  the  thirtieth  of  December,  1882,  father's  failure 
was  rapid,  but  he  was  cheerful  and  entirely  free  from 
suffering,  except  that  which  was  caused  by  weariness. 
Saturday  afternoon,  on  the  thirtieth  of  December,  Pro- 
fessor Sewall  sat  with  him  a  short  time,  and  he  spoke 
of  the  hopes  of  the  future  life.  Father  said,  with  a  great 
deal  of  emphasis  :  "  I  cannot  have  any  doubts  about  the 
future.  I  think  I  know  I  am  a  friend  of  God.  I  love 
him.  1  submit  to  his  will.  I  love  his  service  and  his 
people." 

Dr.  Lyman  Beecher,  my  father's  dear  and  early 
friend,  said  to  his  daughter,  when  he  was  eighty-five 
years  old :  "  Harriet,  I  have  been  reviewing  my 
evidences.  I  have  been  putting  the  question  to  myself 
just  as  1  would  to  a  newly  converted  person,  or  press  it 


KEY.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


139 


on  a  sinner ;  and  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion,  I  have 
a  right  to  hope." 

January  8,  1882,  was  the  Sabbath  day.  In  the 
morning,  father  conducted  family  worship.  He  read 
from  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  John,  stopping  at  the 
fifteenth  verse.  It  was  with  difficulty  he  read,  and  it 
was  the  last  time.  That  morning  he  closed  his  Bible 
forever.  He  was,  through  the  day,  more  wakeful  than 
usual,  and  sat  in  his  accustomed  seat  at  the  front 
window  watching  the  people  going  to  and  returning 
from  church.  He  talked  very  little,  but  was  quiet  and 
sweet.  Remarking  his  silence,  one  asked  if  he  were 
troubled  about  anything.  "Nothing,  nothing;  don't 
think  I  am  unhappy  because  I  don't  talk,"  he  replied. 
He  prayed  with  us  on  that  evening,  for  the  last  time. 
He  retired  early,  but  had  a  disturbed  night.  From  this 
time  his  days  were  wearisome  and  his  nights  broken ; 
perplexed  with  dreams  so  vivid  he  could  scarcely 
believe  they  were  dreams.  One  night  he  is  settling 
a  church  quarrel;  another,  discussing  some  difficult 
theological  points ;  again,  he  is  laboring  in  a  season 
of  revival  in  some  church,  or  offering  a  prayer  at 
a  communion  table.  It  seemed  as  if  his  mind,  now 
unrestrained  by  the  feeble  bod}-,  returned  in  its 
freedom  to  the  old  tracks  of  thought  and  action.  At 
times  he  lost  his  consciousness  of  place,  and  imagined 
himself  away  from  home.  His  appeals  to  us  to  take 
him  home  wrung  our  hearts.  But  this  passed  soon, 
and  there  came  back  to  his  bewildered  soul  a  full 
recognition  of  the  beloved  room  where  he  had  spent  so 
much  of  his  life.  One  said  to  him  :  "  You  shall  always 
have  this  home  till  you  go  to  your  heavenly  home.  Do 
you  fear  or  dread  that  change  ?  "  "  Mo,"  he  replied, 
"  no  fear,  no  dread  !  "    The  tide  of  life  was  flowing  out. 


140 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


No  filial  love  could  detain  him.  As  absent  children 
gathered  about  him,  he  recognized  them  and  had  a 
pleasant  word  for  all,  but  expressed  no  surprise. 

On  the  evening  of  January  19  (Thursday),  he  had  a 
heavy  chill.  It  was  the  beginning  of  the  end.  Though 
he  spoke  to  us  Friday  morning,  he  could  only  with 
difficulty  be  roused  from  the  sleep  that  had  fallen  upon 
him.  Friday  night  the  sleep  became  heavier;  there 
was  no  pressure  of  recognition  from  his  hand  —  no 
response  to  the  voice  he  heard  best  and  loved  most. 
All  night  we  watched  him,  as  he  lay  asleep  with  no 
sign  of  life,  except  the  short  hurried  breathing,  and  till 
noon  on  Saturday-)  when,  without  awaking,  the  change 
came,  and  the  pure  and  happy  spirit  was  in  the  presence 
of  God.  0,  to  follow  it,  and  witness  the  joy  of  the 
wakening !  But  the  door  closed.  It  was  but  a  going 
to  sleep  and  waking  beyond  —  to  be  "  forever  with  the 
Lord."  Death,  so  long  anticipated,  was  left  behind 
forever ;  mortality  was  swallowed  up  of  life. 

The  tolling  of  the  Seminary  chapel  bell  made  known 
the  death  of  Dr.  Pond  to  his  many  friends  all  over  the 
city.  Sorrow  was  mingled  with  thanksgiving,  that  to 
their  honored  friend  an  entrance  had  been  given  to 
that  "city  which  hath  foundations,"  whither  through 
the  long  pilgrim  life  his  feet  had  been  tending. 

The  funeral  services  were  at  the  Hammond  Street 
Church,  on  Tuesday  afternoon,  January  21.  The  pulpit, 
tin'  organ,  and  Dr.  Pond's  pew  in  the  church,  were 
draped  in  mourning.  A  beautiful  bunch  of  calla-liliefl 
in  front  of  the  pulpit,  drooped  over  the  casket,  which 
rested  in  front  of  the  altar.  On  the  right  of  the  altar 
was  a  cross,  composed  of  tea-roses  ;  on  the  left  a  column 
of  ivy ;  a  sheaf  of  ripened  wheat  and  a  wreath  of  ivy 
lay  on  the  casket.     Funeral  services  were  opened  by 


KEV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


141 


the  singing  of  the  hymn,  "  Give  me  the  wings  of 
faith  to  rise,"  by  the  Seminary  quartette.  Selections 
of  Scripture  were  read  hy  Professor  Paine,  after  which 
the  hymn  "  Art  thou  weary  ?  "  was  sung.  Professor 
J.  S.  Sewall  made  an  address,  speaking  of  the  life, 
character,  and  death  of  the  deceased,  i>raising  Qod  for 
having  made  our  departed  friend  what  he  was.  Rev. 
G.  W.  Field  offered  a  prayer  of  such  fervency  and 
eloquence,  that  it  seemed  like  an  inspiration.  A  closing 
hymn,  "  Father,  rest  from  sin  and  sorrow,"  was  sung, 
and  the  benediction  pronounced.  Friends  gathered 
to  take  a  farewell  look  at  the  face  so  well  known  and 
beloved. 

Iu  the  cemetery  of  Mount  Hope  his  body  was  laid 
under  the  snow,  there  to  rest  till  the  dawn  of  the  morn- 
ing of  resurrection,  when  it  shall  come  forth  a  glorious 
body,  fit  dwelling  for  the  purified  spirit. 

"  It  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be  :  but  we 
know  when  He  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like  Him,  for 
we  shall  see  Him  as  he  is." 


142 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


ADDRESS  AT  THE  FUNERAL  OF  DR.  POND. 

BY  PROFESSOR  JOHN  S.   SEWALL,   D.  D. 

There  are  crises  in  our  experience  when  life  is  measured 
by  events  rather  than  by  the  flight  of  time.  At  such 
periods  we  discover  how  near  the  visible  and  material 
parts  of  life  are  to  the  unseen,  and  how  in  our  common- 
place duties  we  are  treading  on  the  verge  of  eternity. 
Such  a  crisis  has  come  to  this  family,  who  are  to-day 
called  upon  to  bring  forth  their  dead  to  the  burial. 
Such  a  crisis  has  come  to  our  Seminary,  to-day  bereaved 
of  one  whose  history  for  a  half  a  century  is  its  history, 
and  every  fibre  of  whose  life  lias  been  braided  into  its 
progress,  and  struggles,  and  triumphs. 

This  is  not  the  place  for  a  eulogy  upon  our  venerable 
father  who  has  gone  up  from  us.  We  have  gathered, 
a  company  of  friends,  neighbors,  and  fellow-citizens,  to 
do  homage  to  his  memory ;  and  we  instinctively  feel 
that  the  most  fitting  honor  we  can  render  is  to  praise, 
not  him,  but  God,  who  made  him  what  he  was.  We 
thank  God,  therefore,  for  that  original  endowment  of 
active  mental  energies  which  so  well  equipped  our 
revered  instructor  and  friend  for  his  laborious  life.  We 
thank  God  for  the  courage,  the  patience,  the  hopeful 
spirit,  which  carried  him  over  so  many  obstacles,  and 
lighted  his  way  through  so  many  dark  hours.  We 
thank  God  for  the  practical  wisdom,  the  sagacity,  the 
cordial  interest,  and  parental  tenderness,  which  guided 
the  Seminary  out  of  its  early  discouragements  into  a 
position  of  honorable  usefulness  and  assured  success ; 
which  developed  its  inner  life  not   into   a   sort  of 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


143 


monastic  seclusion,  but  into  the  cordial  relations  of 
family  affection  ;  which  made  his  pupils  rely  upon  him 
not  simply  for  instruction,  but  for  counsel  and 
sympathy ;  and  which  widened  his  Christian  philan- 
thropy beyond  the  circle  of  his  home,  beyond  the 
Seminary,  the  city,  or  the  State,  and  give  him  a  keen 
interest  in  all  that  might  help  forward  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  in  any  part  of  the  world. 

It  was  given  to  this  man  to  live  two  lives,  each  a 
complete  and  well-rounded  career  in  itself.  If  lie  had 
been  taken  away  at  the  end  of  the  first,  men  would 
have  said  that  his  long  pastorate  and  the  years  of 
editorial  toil  which  followed  had  already  filled  out  the 
measure  of  a  useful  life.  But  instead,  the  call  of  the 
Lord  transferred  him  to  this  other  sphere,  and  here  fifty 
years  more  awaited  him,  of  equal  laboriousness,  and  of 
still  more  signal  usefulness.  And  during  this  busy 
half  century  how  deep  his  roots  have  gone  down  into 
the  life  of  the  Seminary,  into  the  community,  into  the 
churches.  We  honor  him  for  what  he  was ;  hut  we 
honor  Christanity  more,  which  makes  such  a  character 
possible. 

In  such  hours  as  this  we  stand  in  the  presence  of 
realities:  God,  heaven,  immortality,  are  real.  Who  can 
stand  by  the  dead,  and,  surrounded  by  those  emblems 
which  show  the  true  significance  of  life,  deny  that  there 
is  a  personal,  loving  Father  in  heaven?  Who  can 
watch  the  steady  maturing  of  a  character  in  all  that  is 
gObd  and  honest  and  true,  and  think  for  a  momenl  that 
all  that 'slow  accumulation  of  the  best  and  noblest  in 
tlie  human  soul  is  forever  quenched  in  the  grave?  Our 
logic  may  fail  us.  It  is  easy  to  doubt.  But  the 
demonstration  of  a  righteous  life  sweeps  away  our 
sophisms,  and  we  know  in  whom  we  have  believed. 


144 


A  MEMORIAL  OE 


Young  men  of  the  Seminary,  here  is  the  true  argument 
of  the  preacher. 

Our  thoughts  rise  to-day  to  follow  him  who  was  risen 
into  the  presence  of  his  Saviour.  What  a  welcome  has 
greeted  him  there  !  While  we  on  earth  surround  his 
dust  with  these  emblems  of  mourning,  we  can  well 
imagine  the  acclamations  of  joy  with  which  the 
immortal  spirit  is  received  into  the  shining  ranks  above. 
I  stood  on  the  steps  of  the  Court  House  in  Boston,  and 
witnessed  the  return  pf  a  Massachusetts  regiment 
from  the  war  —  a  meagre  fragment  of  it,  coming 
home  travel-stained  and  battle-stained ;  ami  with  the 
thousands  around  me  I  too  wept  and  cheered  by  turns. 
But  the  welcome  would  have  been  just  the  same  had  I 
not  been  there  to  share  it,  would  have  been  the  same 
had  I  never  known  of  it.  So  to-day,  though  we  see  it 
not,  I  believe  the  welcome  is  just  as  certain  which 
greets  the  soldiers  of  the  Lord's  host  on  earth  who  arc 
summoned  to  lay  their  armor  by,  and  return  home  to 
the  courts  of  the  great  King.  And  we  can  dimly 
imagine  with  what  wondrous  endearments  this  our 
venerable  father  has  already  been  received  into  the 
company  of  the  redeemed,  and  how  the  friends  of  his 
youth  and  of  his  prime  are  gathering  around  to  welcome 
him  to  the  joys  of  the  Eternal  City.  The  message  which 
came  over  the  wires  this  morning  from  the  distant  son 
in  California,  "Amen!  The  chariot  of  Israel  and  the 
horsemen  thereof ! "  may  well  find  an  echo  in  all  our 
hearts  ;  and  not  in  ours  only,  but  in  the  hearts  of  all  the 
redeemed  on  earth,  as  they  hear  of  one  another  of  their 
number  returning  home  to  heaven.  Amen  !  so  be  it ! 
The  Judge  of  all  the  earth  doeth  right.  And  the  shoul 
is  caught  up  by  the  minstering  spirits  in  the  air,  and 
by  the  hosts  of  the  saints  above,  and  is  echoed  from 


REV.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D.  145 

company  to  company  :  Amen  !  so  be  it !  Servant  of  God, 
well  done  !  Rest  now  from  thy  labors,  and  enter  thou 
into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord. 

A  request  was  made  to  the  children  of  Dr.  Pond, 
that  the  pupils,  friends,  and  fellow-citizens  of  their 
revered  and  beloved  father  might  share  in  the  erection 
of  a  suitable  monument  to  mark  his  grave.  "  Thus  we 
wish  to  commemorate  an  honored  life,  which  for  half  a 
century  was  pre-eminent  among  us  for  piety,  philan- 
thropy, and  useful  service,  not  only  to  the  Seminary  but 
also  to  the  City  of  Bangor." 

Such  a  monument  has  been  erected  in  the  family 
burying-place  in  Mount  Hope  Cemetery.  It  bears  this 
inscription  :  — 

ENOCH  POND,  d.  D. 

BORN  IN  WRENTHAM,  MASS. 
DIED  IN  BANGOR,  ME. 

January  21,  1881.         Aged  91  years. 

For  Fifty  Years  Professor  in  Bangor  Theological  Seminary. 

"My  Father!  My  Father!  The  Chariot 
Of  Israel  and  the  Horsemen  Thereof." 

Erected  by  the  Alumni  of  the  Seminary,  and  other  friends. 

My  father  used  a  form  of  prayer  in  the  family  worship 
morning  and  evening.  At  our  request  he  wrote  out  some 
years  ago  his  evening  prayer.    It  is  this :  — 

Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  we  humbly  bow 
before  thee  this  evening,  that  we  may  offer  to  thee 
our  evening  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving  and  praise. 
Thou  hast  mercifully  spared  us  another  day. 
Thou  hast  added  another  day  to  our  forfeited 
lives.    We  thank  thee  for  all  the  mercies  of  the 


146 


A  MEMORIAL  OF 


day.  Thou  hast  supplied  our  wants  ;  thou  hast 
blessed  us  in  our  undertakings ;  thou  hast  pre- 
served us  from  accident  and  evil,  from  sickness 
and  death ;  thou  hast  brought  us  to  the  close  of 
the  day,  rejoicing  in  the  goodness  and  mercy  of 
the  Lord.  And  now,  O  God,  we  implore  thy 
blessing  and  protection  through  the  darkness  and 
silence  of  the  night.  May  we  lay  ourselves  down 
and  sleep  in  quiet ;  may  all  danger  and  evil  sleep 
around  us ;  and  in  the  morning  may  we  awake 
refreshed  and  invigorated  to  enter  on  the  duties 
of  another  day.  And  thus  wilt  thou  be  with  us 
through  all  the  remaining  days  of  our  lives. 
Whether  many  or  few,  may  they  all  be  spent  in 
thy  service  and  to  thy  glory.  May  we  do  with 
our  might  whatever  our  hands  find  to  do  in  every 
work  of  faith  and  labor  of  love,  that  when  our 
time  on  earth  is  spent,  and  we  are  called  away, 
having  nothing  more  to  do  or  suffer  here  below, 
we  may  have  an  abundant  entrance  administered 
to  us  into  the  everlasting  kingdom  and  joy  of  our 
Lord. 

We  look  to  thee,  O  Lord,  for  the  pardon  of  our 
many  sins.  We  pray  for  an  interest  in  thy  favor 
which  is  life,  and  thy  loving  kindness  which  is 
better  than  life.  May  thy  blessing  rest  upon  this 
household.  May  all  the  members  of  this  family 
belong  to  thine  own  family,  and  be  heirs  together 
of  the  grace  of  life. 

Wilt  thou  be  gracious  to  all  those  who  should 
be  remembered  in  our  evening  prayer  —  dear 
absent  relatives  and  friends  ?  wilt  thou  be  near  and 


KEY.  ENOCH  POND,  D.  D. 


147 


gracious  unto  them  ?  Watch  over  them  in  mercy 
and  bless  them  as  they  individually  need.  Bless 
the  church  of  which  we  are  members,  and  pour 
out  thy  Spirit  upon  it,  and  may  many  be  added  tu 
it  "of  such  as  shall  be  saved."  Remember  a 
world  lying  in  wickedness,  and  hasten  on  the  day 
of  its  complete  redemption.  Thou  hast  promised, 
O  God,  that  thy  Son  shall  have  the  "  heathen  for 
his  inheritance,  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth 
for  his  possession."  O,  remember  these  words  of 
promise  on  which  thou  hast  caused  us  to  hope, 
and  hasten  on  the  happy  time  when  they  shall  be 
gloriously  fulfilled  —  when  the  "  knowledge  of  the 
Lord  shall  cover  the  earth,  as  the  waters  fill  the 
channels  of  the  deep." 

And  now  we  commit  ourselves  and  all  that  is 
dear  to  us  to  thee.  Watch  over  us,  provide  for 
us,  and  receive  us  at  last  to  Thine  Eternal  King- 
dom, —  all  which  we  humbly  ask  in  the  worthy 
name  of  Christ  out  Saviour.  Amen. 


Date  Due 


